The Fallacy of Scarcity

Money is on everyone's mind these days. As Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey sang in Cabaret -- "Money Makes the World Go Around." So, money may make the world go around, but does it make your life go around?
We all need money to support our needs and our wants. When we shift our perspective to one in which money (or the lack of money) is the litmus test by which all wants are judged, we get into trouble. For example, when a spouse loses a job or our overtime disappears -- it is as if our sense of opportunity closes up overnight, like a morning glory on a chilly spring evening.


When we start to see the world from a point-of-view of scarcity, or that there is only a finite amount of good "stuff" out there and so we need to conserve or horde what we have, it is my belief that we close up like that morning glory. We often strive to hold on to what we have, be it a relationship or a job we've outgrown, even if it no longer fulfills us. We also start to see others as competition, and often feel envious of what others have that we do not.


In the eloquent words of Stephen Covey, “People with a scarcity mentality tend to see everything in terms of win-lose. There is only so much; and if someone else has it, that means there will be less for me. The more principle-centered we become, the more we develop an abundance mentality, the more we are genuinely happy for the successes, well-being, achievements, recognition, and good fortune of other people. We believe their success adds to...rather than detracts from...our lives.”


What if, instead, we lived from this place of abundance, where there was more than enough love and economic prosperity to go around? When turning our eyes to the role that money plays in our life, we see not deprivation, but the opportunity to grow, invest, and use our creativity? What if we invest time and a bit of money in exploring a long forgotten passion, or finishing up that degree we were a few credits short of receiving?


You can try an exercise to practice using this abundance perspective: Start by making a list of all of the interests or activities that you're curious about pursuing -- anything that has ever sparked your interest. Now, select at least one thing that has always sparked your interest, and costs under $100 (or perhaps costs nothing at all!). Now, start enjoying that activity TODAY! As you pursue the activity, reflect on what engaging in this activity brings into your life. How does it open up possibility in your life?


I wish that you may live in abundance.