7 steps how to transition from a scarcity to an abundance mindset
You want to grow as a person but don’t know how to start?
How about starting to develop an abundance mindset with just 7 easy steps?
Sounds good, right? Can you do it?
I guess you can. It’s just seven small steps, so why not give it a try…
But first things first: What exactly IS an abundant mindset?
Imagine you are standing at a crossroad.
You can either turn left or right.
One direction is paved in scarcity and the other one is filled with abundance.
As you choose one road and you have walked a couple of steps, meters, or kilometers you come to the next crossroad where you can either turn left or right.
And again – one direction is paved in scarcity and the other one is filled with abundance.
And so on.
In any moment of any time, you can choose the road you want to travel on.
The question here is: Do you want to live a life of abundance or of scarcity?
The road of scarcity leads to a life that is not fully lived. A person with a scarcity mindset will be absorbed with what is missing in one’s life. In that situation, the mind becomes busy worrying and stops you from accessing what you want from life. A scarcity mindset will focus on limitation and manifest obstacles which can seriously limit our success. When you limit yourself with your beliefs and actions, you are not open to receive or recognize the abundance that surrounds you.
For a scarcity mind, there is never enough.
You wake up in the morning, thinking you didn’t have enough sleep or won’t have enough time to accomplish all the things that can be accomplished that day.No matter what it is, the scarcity mind is set on acknowledging what is not available.
On the other end, the road of abundance leads to a completely different life.
Abundance can mean different things to different people. It is important that you have a clear understanding of what abundance means to you.
Let’s start by defining abundance.
Dictonary.com gives the following definitions:
Let’s overlook physics and chemistry. Definitely, we are not talking about isotopes and atoms here. The other three definitions are overflowing fullness, extremely oversufficient supply and wealth.
If you use these and think of living an abundant life, what does it look like for you? Does it mean to have harmony all around you or maybe humor, creativity, friendship, freedom, money, order? Everybody perceives abundance in a different way – there is no judgment here, no good or bad.
With an abundant mindset, you realize that there is enough in this world for everyone to receive. You let go of negative feelings like jealousy, envy or pity for yourself and take matters in your own hands. You move from being a victim in your life to a leader. In addition, you don’t focus on the limitation, but you recognize the good things that are already present in your life and set your intention to manifest more of what you want.
Imagine you standing on this crossroad and choosing to live life to the fullest, radiating happiness, being creative and optimistic and taking full advantage and enjoying the wave of opportunities that come your way while at the same time making memorable experiences.
Which one sounds better to you?
For me, I was stuck in the scarcity mindset for a long, long time. I was focused on what I didn’t have.
- I didn’t have a nice car.
- I didn’t have a great job.
- I didn’t have the body I should have.
- I didn’t have nice clothes.
- I didn’t have the 10K a month everybody seems to be doing all the time in some of the Facebook groups I followed.
And I can tell you, this kind of thinking made me feel miserable.
However, until I started my journey into personal development, I didn’t even have the slightest clue that there ARE two different mindsets.
As I started to shift from the scarcity to the abundance mindset, magic things happened…
However, let me show you the difference first:
Same situation like above but with the abundance mindset in place:
- My small car didn’t need so much petrol compared to a big one, so I saved a ton of money.
- I had great colleagues and I enjoyed the computer/coding challenges that my job brought.
- I am a sportive person and I like working out
- A seminar on how to find the right clothes for my body type made such a difference! Thanks again Elizabeth.
- I have a positive balance on all my bank accounts and no debts, and I can afford my life with the money I have.
Can you feel the difference?
I definitely could.
And you can make that change, too!
Here are 7 steps how to transition from a scarcity mindset to an abundance mindset:
Step 1: Learn to Receive
The biggest reason that blocks many of us from receiving the abundance that exist in our world is a deep belief that we are not worthy of it.
Let me ask you something:
How do you behave when someone compliment you on your skills or how you look?
Do you have the tendency to find an excuse? Or maybe you simply change the subject?
People with an abundance mindset are not afraid to say thank you when somebody gives them a compliment.
If you want to start living an abundant life, start with a simple thank you.
And in order to bring more abundance in your life, you need to be open to receive. That includes receiving help from others.
If it is difficult for you to say “yes” to someone who offers you help, you are telling the universe that you are not deserving of receiving from others. The same applies if you have a hard time asking for help.
Maybe you are stuck in some relationship issues. Or having problems at work.
When was the last time you have been asking for help?
To many people it is a surprise that showing independence in our life can lead to blocking the flow of abundance! Don’t get me wrong, being able to be independent is a great thing and something we are teaching our children, too.
However, you don’t need to be Atlas, who is carrying the weight of the whole world on his shoulders.
Asking for help can be quite a challenge. However, I highly recommend do it. You will be surprised of the outcomes.
Step 2: Stop Blaming Others
Do you often feel like life isn’t fair?
Maybe you feel that a lot of the unfortunate situations you have experienced are not your fault but someone else.
If so, it might be time for you to take matters into your own hands.
If you don’t it is basically giving up on your power and leaving all control of your life to external factors like another person.
When you give up on your power, it leads you with hopelessness and inability to change your situation.
One of the most common behaviors in people with an abundance mindset is their ability to take responsibility and do something to change their situation.
If you don’t acknowledge your responsibility in your life, you are unable to feel empowered to do something about improving your life.
So, stop blaming others and start to take responsibility.
Step 3: Stop Envying Others
When was the last time you felt jealous or envy? Do you feel it often?
I tended to. I have been feeling it with people with bigger cars or more money, or a perfect bikini figure.
When you live with a scarcity mindset, you tend to experience feelings of jealousy and envy.
You will often catch yourself looking at others and wondering why you can’t have what they have.
Envy is a feeling that attracts scarcity because you focus on what you don’t have.
It can also lead to resentment toward some people and ruin relationships with friends and families.
So, do yourself a favour and …
Step 4: Appreciate What You Have
Do you find yourself listing things that you are missing in your life? Do you sometimes wonder why you don’t have what you want? Are you the type of person that is always focused on getting more?
It is a common mistake of a scarcity mindset to place all your attention and energy on what is missing in your life.
A simple step to abundance is to start recognizing how rich your life already is. Take the time to appreciate what you have in your life. Maybe it is health, people you love, your colleagues, skills, or the simple beauty of nature that surround you every day. The more you bring your mind in a space of appreciation and recognition, the more you are allowing yourself to attract positive things in your life.
You will find yourself realizing how abundant your life is and that what you need is right there in front of you.
Step 5: Stop Dwelling on the Past
I met many people who tell me that certain things can’t be achieved because of something that happened in their past.
To dwell on the past means that you spend a lot of your precious energy thinking about things that are no longer relevant.
That behaviour leaves you with little energy to manifest what you want in life. If you want to change or accept your past, you have to make a choice now and bring your focus back to what you can do, NOW, to feel happier.
If you want to have a more fulfilling life, ask yourself, what choice you can do right now to help you access more abundance. What good do you have going on in your life now? People with an abundance mindset don’t delay living a happy life based on something they will get later. They find the joy in the present.
Step 6: Find What You Love
In order to have an abundant life, you need to figure out what it is that you love doing. Many times, we try to do something that others do, simply because they are successful.
The more you will align with what you love doing, the more abundance you will attract in your life.
If you are trying to be someone else, you will block the flow of abundance because you are not in the heart space, but in the mind space. If someone succeeds at something, it isn’t because of what they do, but because of who they are.
The question is: What do you REALLY love?
Step 7: Accomplish Small Actions
Abundance doesn’t happen overnight. Most people who live an abundant life will tell you that they work at it every day.
On a daily basis, they are accomplishing small actions that aligns them with what they want in life. For example, if what you want is more money, each day, you can make small deposits in a saving account. 10 dollars a week will become $40-$50 at the end of the month (depending on the lengths of the month) and $520 at the end of the year.
If, on the other hand, you want more love in your life, start with self-love. Every day write down and/or say yourself one thing that you really appreciate about yourself.
Oh, and one more thing:
Our vocabulary says a lot about our mindset. A person with a scarcity mindset will use many limiting words such as “can’t,” “won’t,” or “don’t.”
These words have the tendency to nourish a deep belief that we don’t have enough and will never be able to access what we want in life. To shift to a more abundant life, pay attention to the words you use. Catch yourself using words that set a limiting belief and reframe them into words that empower you to do something about the situation.
Living an abundant life is available to all individuals on this Earth and it all depends on the mindset.
By applying the tips provided above, you will increase your ability to access the abundance that surrounds you and also allow you to manifest what you desire in your life. You will find an abundant, happy and fulfilling life once you are fully aware of your thoughts and your ability to change your thinking process of limiting beliefs and scarcity-based thinking to abundance. Know that anyone can successfully access an abundance mindset and achieve whatever they deeply want and believe they deserve.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Hi, I’m Caydee Schwarz and I write about personal development, success and happiness.
Let’s be honest: all of us want to live a happy life and fulfilled life. And every day, a lot of us fail in our attempt to get there. Our thoughts, the right inner attitude and the right knowledge empower us to create our life according to our wishes. Knowing what our mission is and what makes us truly happy is the foundation to a happy and fulfilled life. I’ll help you lay that foundation – so you can live the life you want.