Steven Covey in his best-selling book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, first coined the terms of a scarcity mindset and an abundance mindset. Scarcity mindset refers to the paradigm of looking at life as finite, as if there is a limited number of pieces in a pie. On the other hand, an abundance mindset refers to the paradigm where there is enough and there is plenty for everyone. 

Here’s how Stephen Covey describes the Scarcity Mindset…

Most people are deeply scripted in what I call the Scarcity Mentality. They see life as having only so much, as though there were only one pie out there. And if someone were to get a big piece of the pie, it would mean less for everybody else.

The Scarcity Mentality is the zero-sum paradigm of life. People with a Scarcity Mentality have a very difficult time sharing recognition and credit, power or profit – even with those who help in the production. The also have a a very hard time being genuinely happy for the success of other people.

Stephen Covey describes Abundance Mindset as…

The Abundance Mentality, on the other hand, flows out of a deep inner sense of personal worth and security. It is the paradigm that there is plenty out there and enough to spare for everybody. It results in sharing of prestige, of recognition, of profits, of decision making. It opens possibilities, options, alternatives, and creativity.

How I’m Making the Shift from a Scarcity into an Abundance Mindset for My Business 

May I share how I’ve been applying the shift in the context of my business.

Over the years, I have been working on letting go of my scarcity mindset.  I found out how limiting beliefs were driving the way I was showing up in my business. It wasn’t great that I had unconsciously picked up scarcity thinking from “marketing experts” and I needed to change this.

These days, I remind myself about coming from a space of love and abundance whether I am serving clients or doing marketing. It just doesn’t feel right to be coming from love when I work with clients but when it is time for marketing activities, I use fear-based methods. I’m now leaning into greater authenticity when promoting my offers and I am feeling happier and aligned  

The following is how making the shift is looking like….

How You Can Make the Shift from Scarcity to an Abundance Mindset

Interested to work on making a shift?

Refer to the following table that summarises what Stephen Covey has to say about shifting from a scarcity to an abundance mindset….

From the table, make a tick on the ones that you feel represents where you are. Thereafter, decide which item you want to be working on for making a shift and how you would like to go about it. You may decide to apply it in the context of your business, in personal finance or just in general. 

For example, instead of thinking small and avoiding risk, you may decide to stop playing safe and be open to putting yourself out there and to sharing your big vision. Or, instead of focusing on cost control for personal finance, you may choose to explore how you can employ leverage to grow your investments. 

Additional 4 tips to make the shift from a scarcity to an abundance mindset…

1. Surround yourself with people with generous and abundance mindset. 
2. Practice daily gratitude. 
3. Use creative visualisation to envision possibility. 
4. Connect with nature to infuse expansiveness and abundance. 

Hope the above tips help! 

Love and Abundance Always, 
Evelyn Lim
Abundance Coach

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