An Abundant World

This month, I was thinking about two mindsets: scarcity vs. abundance.

Reading about each side has given me fresh perspective on reframing my life — a personal journey of mine in the past year.

So what’s the difference?

A scarcity mindset comes from a place that the world is limited and barren. There is not enough to go around — and we all compete for shrinking resources. It’s a negative-sum attitude that focuses on the short-term.

An abundance mindset comes from a place that the world is lush and bountiful. There is more than enough to go around — and we all share in growing resources. It’s a positive-sum attitude that focuses on the long-term.

Here are three pillars which I am trying to shift my attitude to abundance:

Money

From early on, I was taught that money was a tool, and not a yardstick. Still, I remember feeling pangs of envy — to people who were earning and saving more than me. Recently, I’ve been trying to focus inward and redefine my relationship with money. I’ve seen the pain and heartache money can bring when people attach to it personally. So I’m doing my best to realize that money will always ebb and flow, but if you do it right, there will be a chance for everyone to have and enjoy it.

Work

In a professional environment, sometimes it can get lonely. It can feel like a battle between you and everyone else for that promotion, raise or job. Early on, I felt a struggle to compete for everything — because if I didn’t, I’d be left in the dust. Thinking with an abundance mentality, I am starting to recognize that my stress is baseless. Maybe it’s just a matter of time, but opportunities will come and you’ll have a chance to capture them when it’s right.

Relationships

As a young man, I felt I could only give so much in relationships; a belief that I had a certain amount in my “well” before running out. But my mother showed me an important lesson: your heart can grow if you let it. Her abundant mindset has spread so much light and love to many people over the years. I hope to channel her thinking: relationships flourish when you allow yourself to give completely.

We all have such unique journeys, filled with amazing highs and terrible lows. And a lot of us (including me) search for reasons of why things happen to us.

But maybe if we look at things a little differently, the answers might just be a matter of perspective. A perspective from a simply abundant world!