How to shift from scarcity to abundance
If you’ve lately found yourself feeling like you’re the last one in a long line to get a cookie from the jar, you’ve fallen into what I like to call the “scarcity trap.” It happens to all of us. Here’s why: we’re hardwired to always be alert to potential dangers in our world to make sure we survive. It’s like we’re walking through the woods and all we can do is watch out for poison ivy, bear tracks and and quicksand instead of relaxing to look up from the ground to enjoy the beautiful nature around us.
And the trickier thing about this mindset is that it has a snowball effect. The more we do it, the better and better we get at obsessing about things that never happen.
Abundance is a beautiful thing
There are lots of ways to pry that scarcity trap off your brain, but my very favorite and simple solution is doing a gratitude journal. It’s a sure-fire way to retrain your brain to focus on what you have versus what you lack. All it takes is a pen, some paper and a few minutes of quiet.
I like gratitude journaling because it keeps you present. It's like blessing your food. No one says, “God we're eating meatloaf today, and we will be so gracious if you allow us to have it tomorrow as well. Amen.” NO! You just say thank you for what's right in front of you today. If you extend this act to the rest of you life, you'll change your life forever. You'll notice that you always have everything you need (and often much more than you need).
Get your gratitude on
So here’s my little science project for you. Do a gratitude journal for 30 days. Write down what you're grateful for before you go to bed every night. Or if you want to bring your partner in on this, tell each other what you’re grateful for before you go to sleep. It’s magic. It works on the brain just like studying late night did back in college: the last thing your read is the first thing that you remember upon waking.
And wouldn't it be awesome to wake up with with these kind of thoughts in my mind? People always mention how they love my smile..........my puppy helps me connect with my neighbors.........the dude at the coffee shop has my coffee drink waiting when I walk in the door............fresh basil makes me feel skinny..........there is freaking beauty in an excel spread sheet.
Whew. I feel better already...how about you?
A word of caution: This is powerful stuff. When you start living in the present and practice gratitude, before you know it, you’ll be living a life that you thought only happened on TV (and no, don’t worry, I’m not talking about any of those Real Housewives shows!).
I’d love to hear ways you’ve found to fight the scarcity trap. Tell me about it in the comments!
Be peace, be love,
Jerome!