Two weeks ago I wrote about what I saw as the insidious power of the scarcity mindset; how autocrats can harness the power of this idea: “you don’t have enough, and someone is taking away what you have or what you deserve to have.”
A scarcity mindset in an individual can hijack all sorts of other abilities that I enumerated in my post “The arresting power of scarcity” — the ability to think strategically and reflectively, to apply what you’ve learned, to think creatively, to generate options, and to experience empathy. ,
An abundance mindset, on the other hand, yields a trove of benefits. There are hundreds of books published in the last decade with the word “abundance” in the title. Many of them point in the direction of the upside of the abundance mindset: encouraging people to innovate, to build partnerships, to see strengths (of self and others), and to explore options that one might initially miss.
The literature identifies personal abundance related to feelings of gratitude and generosity, increased resilience and an abiding optimism.
There is also cognitive abundance — when we feel we have “enough,” our brains become more capable of planning, innovating, and empathizing.
There is also a level of Community abundance — the idea that when we do things like invest in one another, or partner with other organizations, we create opportunities that never would have existed otherwise.
There is a chicken-egg issue here. There is a case for believing that we can actually create abundance through imagination, collaboration, trust, and shared purpose.
Personally I can see this when I consider my spouse’s work with performing, literary and visual artists and institutions that would benefit from the arts — and sources of funding that help make these potentially transformational activities a reality. She is a living example of a habit of thinking: inclusion, rather than exclusion; of generosity, rather than possessiveness; of creating possibilities that help strengthen everyone rather than competing for a piece of the pie.
An important point about the abundance mindset is that it does not presume the world is necessarily an endlessly bountiful place. Real scarcity exists. The goal isn’t pretending everything is fine — it’s recognizing that even amid genuine constraints, we often have more options, relationships, strengths, and agency than our minds initially perceive.
Years ago I coached a charter school system superintendent. Let’s call him Matt. Nice fellow, very thoughtful, very planful. He liked structure and predictability. He would map out the school year on giant sheets of chart paper and hang them on the walls of his office. Major events, due dates, operations, infrastructure, testing, roles and responsibilities. Color coded. These were works of art and ingenuity that he used everyday.
His character note was that he would leap to judgment about people. Especially people he worked with. One of his directors sent an email to the school community. Matt felt that the text of the email neglected to include a point that Matt and the director had discussed and agreed on.
Matt, being Matt, knew exactly why the director had done this. It was as though Matt could read his thoughts. Or thought he could.
I have coached many a leader on the risks of jumping to judgment, especially about other people’s motivations — things that are in the minds and hearts of others. “Prepare to be wrong some or most of the time you do that,” was my advice.
“Why?” was Matt’s retort. “I know this guy. I know what he is up to.” And then he proceeded to lay out his theory involving some hidden agenda on the part of the director to undermine Matt in some aspect of something. I don’t remember the details, but I do remember that I helped him think about his thinking.
“I just now thought up three alternative explanations,” I pushed back. “And I think you can, too.”
Matt said he wanted to come up with a counter-move to thwart the director. He didn’t particularly want to entertain other possibilities. Fortunately, he was very competitive, so this was a beautifully coachable moment.
He came up with five other ways to explain the email. Confronted with these other possibilities, his plan of action now included having a conversation with the director to get clear about his intention in sending the email.
Matt had been caught by his scarcity mindset. He had a rigid set of assumptions about the director, and was over-confident in his judgment of the director’s motivations. It was only through exposure to even a small abundance of alternative explanations that he changed his thinking and his tactic.
In thinking about the abundance mindset, it seems super obvious that this is the way to go.
So why does it come easily to some people while others struggle? I confess to a habit of mind that is less hopeful, more wary, more risk averse.
Is the glass half-empty or all the way empty?
And why is there such an abundance of books about abundance on the market? That alone suggests that there is a felt social need to develop the positivity necessary for one to aspire toward a generative mindset. Like it doesn’t come naturally. Like we need to keep reminding ourselves.
One possibility is the effect of advertisers, autocrats or any of the fear-mongers or need-mongers flooding our culture with scarcity thinking.
Or maybe it’s our own habits of thought. I came across this amusing quote from The Soul of Money, a book by philanthropist Lynne Twist1:
For me, and for many of us, our first waking thought of the day is ‘I didn’t get enough sleep.’ The next one is ‘I don’t have enough time.’... Before we even sit up in bed, we’re already inadequate, already behind, already losing.
She goes on to argue that this internal narrative of “not enough” becomes one of the greatest barriers to generosity, creativity, and joy.
Awareness of your internal narrative — whatever it may be — sounds like a good first step.
Lynne Twist is an American author, fundraiser, and philanthropist best known for her work on ethical philanthropy and people’s relationship with money. Over several decades, she has become a prominent voice in nonprofit fundraising, social justice, and environmental sustainability through her writing, speaking, and organizational leadership. soulofmoney.org
Thanks for this post, Stew. I wish there were more public conversations about what it can mean, feel, and look like to have enough, as a way to encourage people to reflect on that idea themselves and how to go about building a life, community, and society that encourages that kind of thinking and way of being. For me, coming from a "developing country," being exposed to appreciative inquiry and the growth mindset in my career, and exploring meditation, have been instrumental in helping me face and try to transform my own scarcity mindset. Of course, it also helps to have people in my life who are curious about this, too, and experimenting with these concepts in their daily life.
So many good things to consider here, Stew, and of course, I particularly appreciate and agree with your example in your lovely wife. And it’s almost impossible for me to separate her relationship to abundance from what was modeled by her parents. I had a good laugh at your remark about the glass being half empty or all the way empty! I don’t know how much of it is nature or nurture, but I believe I had one of each kind of parent. My mother was pragmatic, but generally believed things would work out. My father was anxious, tending to find reasons to worry. Though I can fret like a champion, I still think I have landed more on the side of my mom. The current social and political climate does little to generate an abundant mindset. All the more reason for us to read this and focus on cultivating it!