Abundance vs Scarcity

Elections are in the air. Canada goes to the polls this week. America goes to the polls next month. And the big item on the agenda for both countries is the worldwide economy – although many of the citizens in both countries refuse to see that it is a worldwide event and not geographically exclusive to any one country.

I heard a great quote from Warren Buffet, last week. Buffet, if you don’t already know, is the most successful investor ever in the history of the world. Buffet’s advice? “If you’re not prepared to own a stock for ten years, you shouldn’t own it for ten minutes.”

In other words, think long-term. Markets fluctuate. It’s the focus on a short-term buy and sell that can create uncertainty, worry and sometimes panic, not within the market but within the individual buying and selling. That panic then spreads to other areas of his or her life because everything always comes back to money doesn’t it?

There are always short-term events in life that creates uncertainty and sometimes worry or panic. And this global economic slowdown is simply one of those events that will come and go over time. It’s not permanent. It never is. Even the Great Depression wasn’t permanent. We got over it and our economies bounced back and grew. And we will weather this storm too.

There are two attitude choices you can make for your life: not just when a financial crunch comes but something you can practice in good times and bad. Those two choices are to have either a “scarcity” mindset or an “abundance” mindset.

I will let the words of Steven Covey explain it better:

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. They also have a very hard time being genuinely happy for the success of other people.

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.

Attitude Adjustment: Before you start to panic, remember that newspapers need to sell big headlines to get you to buy them, TV networks need to sensationalize in order to bring their viewership up. Don’t rely solely on one news outlet for your perspective. There are an “abundance” of perspectives out there. Check out varying web sites, TV news, radio commentators, newspapers, periodicals, blogs, etc. Everyone has an opinion. You will find that there are as many people willing to lessen the severity of the current economic outlook as there are people who are willing to profess that the sky is falling. You owe it to the important people in your life to practice an attitude of “abundance” and not to panic. These current world events are temporary. This too, like every difficult time in our history, shall pass and you will be OK.