Scarcity Mindset - Fear Of Not Enough - HealthSurgeon - Healthy Living and Fitness

Having a scarcity mindset can come from many places. You may have experienced scarcity for a time in your life. You may see other people around you struggle with scarcity which can cause you to have fear and anxiety about scarcity. Scarcity mindset is when you are obsessed with the lack of something, or the feeling that you don’t have enough of something. This could be anything.

The most common culprits of scarcity mindset are time and money. People can have a scarcity mindset about food, certain items or objects as well as just time and money. The obsession caused by a scarcity mindset can cause you to not be able to focus on anything else no matter how hard you try. Scarcity mindset is similar to when you cut foods out of your diet and all you can do is focus on wanting that food all day every day. Scarcity mindset isn’t a personality trait, it is brought on by environmental factors around you.

The definition of scarcity, it to be in short supply. This doesn’t have to be actual things, this could be love, or time. For some people scarcity may be money, food, or objects. In some cases living through times of scarcity can cause a scarcity mindset to occur which can result in hoarding. If there was a time where it was hard to get something like toilet paper, when toilet paper is finally available to you it can be easy to buy a whole bunch so that you would never have to go without again. This can cause your impulse to control to be harder to control. You might make decisions out of the fear of missing out, or for fear of not being able to get something before you truly need it. Along with your impulse control, your decision making when it comes to other things can also be compromised when you have a scarcity mentality. You may see yourself start saying yes to things just because you don’t know if the opportunity will ever come around again. Over-scheduling is a common sign of a scarcity mindset. Scarcity mindset can also cause you to have a perfectionist mindset which can cause you to allow responsibilities to pile up for fear of starting something and failing. Scarcity mindset can lower your IQ. It has also been shown to hinder your problem solving skills, ability to retain information, your logical reasoning, decision making, your ability to plan, focus, or to start a project or task.

Since scarcity mindset is not a personality trait it can be unlearned. This will not happen overnight and can take some time to train yourself to think differently. One way to go about this is to switch your mindset to an abundance mindset. Abundance mentality is when you think there is plenty for everyone. Finding what you have in abundance can help you switch your focus to that instead of focusing only on what you don’t have. You may find that your finances are scarce but you have an abundance of time. Or you have an abundance of finances but you find yourself missing time with your family. This can help you balance out areas of your life to fill in the scarce parts with what you have in abundance. Abundance will look different for everyone, so you cannot measure someone else’s abundance to your own.

Practicing gratitude can also help switch your mindset. Gratitude is the quality of being thankful. There are gratitude journals that can help walk you through how to start having a gratitude mindset. Surrounding yourself with positive people can also help you learn how to switch your mindset. People who are glass half full kind of people are more opt to be people who have an abundance mentality than a scarcity mindset.

Having a scarcity mindset can lead to other mental symptoms such as depression, anxiety, low self esteem, or risky behaviors. It is important to make sure you are getting good quality sleep. As well as learn the best ways for you personally to manage your stress. Exercising daily, making sure you are moving your body around physically can be a great way to help manage stress as well help your quality of sleep. During your work day, schedule breaks to let you get up and stretch your legs or take a mental break from your work as well.

Paying bills on time can be hard for someone who has a scarcity mindset. They may not think they will have enough money when the time comes to pay it or may not be able to focus or plan on paying bills on time. If this is the case you can set up your bills to be paid automatically so the actual act of paying them is out of your hands. If you can’t pay them online, make sure you right due dates on your calendar so that you can see when bills need to be paid by.

Scarcity mindset can make you feel like you will run out of something. This could be food. This can cause impulse buying in the store for foods that you will not eat, or over buying where food goes bad before you can consume it. Doing online shopping and picking up can help you plan your grocery lists more effectively. This way you can see what you already have in your pantry and refrigerator to help you feel more at ease that you won’t run out. Doing grocery pick up will also keep you out of the store to stop the impulse buys that can be so tempting. Plan your meals in advance, so you are only buying what you need. If you do weekly grocery trips, this can help you plan out what you need for the week so you won’t over buy or over spend.

Scarcity mindset is not uncommon. Having it consume you can be exhausting. Learning to switch your mindset can help you get rid of a scarcity mindset and learn how to live life without focusing on what you don’t have.

A Scarcity Mindset focuses on what you don't have and isn't healthy! #HealthSurgeon

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