Building unshakable confidence and layers of resiliency starts with this mental shift.
Abundance is commonly accepted as something that helps us live more fulfilling lives. But why?
Simply, it’s because operating in a state of abundance leads to a growth mindset. While operating in a state of scarcity leads to a fixed mindset that places invisible ceilings on your potential.
Abundance, as Stephen Covey describes it in his classic book The Seven Principles of Highly Effective People, is something that:
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.
When it comes to scarcity, Covey states:
Most people are deeply scripted in what I call 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.
When it comes to developing confidence and building more resiliency, approaching life with an abundance mentality is essential. When you’re looking to adopt this mentality, it starts with these four critical factors:
1. Look for the silver lining in every situation.
Each day you wake up, something will happen not according to plan, someone will tempt you emotionally and will likely try to steal your joy.
There’s nothing you can do about this.
While you can’t control the people or situations around you, you can control your response. More importantly, you can choose to extract the positive out of the situation and use that to grow as a person.
Situations, games, business quarters, health, and many other facets of your life won’t roll in your favor 100 percent of the time, but even then, there’s always a silver lining to the situation (even if it’s marginal).
Choose optimism, search for the silver lining, and remember that all things contribute to your advancement.
2. Keep the big picture in mind.
I’m an author and operate in the health and fitness industry. With a scarcity mindset, I would most likely quit what I’m doing because there are millions of fitness books in existence along with many other health and fitness consultants.
You’re a business owner, a high-performing professional, or part of a startup, and guess what, there are countless others similar to you, and that’s only increasing.
However, when you’re approaching life with an abundance mindset, you’ll realize that though you’re in the same line of work as others, you’re not the same because no two individuals are alike. There are billions of people in this world and those people will resonate with different voices, methods, philosophies, and approaches, even if the desired result is similar.
There is plenty for everyone. Everyone has a unique gift and voice that can specifically help others out.
3. Freely share with others.
When you lead and operate out of scarcity, then you’re only going to receive more scarcity. But when you give freely, you not only feel better about yourself, but you’ll also start receiving more.
Call it magic, the law of attraction, the law of reciprocity, or anything else. The sooner you learn to let go and give more, the quicker abundance will start growing in all areas of your life.
To get started, make it a goal to share something once a day. This doesn’t have to be money, it could be an encouraging note to someone, a thank you letter or email to someone you admire, or giving 30 minutes to someone who wants to “pick your brain.”
4. Reduce and be more mindful of your media consumption.
If you’re constantly consuming media through various social channels and television, you’re constantly in “consumer mode” instead of “producer mode,” where creativity happens.
Hence, you run the risk of catching tunnel vision and furthering the chances of scarcity thinking because you think there isn’t anything that can be added. Some will say that consuming ample amounts of media is motivation. While it may fire you up at first, eventually it leads to comparison and lack of action and worth.
The question to ask yourself is why are you consuming this media? And how does it make you feel, while consuming and afterward?
When you become abundant, you believe you can have it all. Choose the path of abundance and experience more happiness, richer relationships, better health, and greater success in business.
Credits: inc.com
