Developing an abundance mindset

The opposite of lack is abundance, more than enough. Like poverty, abundance is a mindset. While the poverty mindset leans towards taking, the abundance mindset leans towards giving. The best way to receive on a sustainable basis is to keep giving. Giving sets in motion the process of receiving which is unstoppable. It may be delayed, but like a boomerang, it always finds its way home.

We were brought up to believe that human needs are insatiable and resources are limited. This mindset predisposes us to the tendency to want to grab our share of the cake. So we become go-getters instead of go-givers. In order to have more, others will have to settle for less, so we have to beat them to it. We look at life as a zero-sum game – the winner takes it all, while the loser makes do with the crumbs – if any.

This concept was very evident in the industrial age, a hangover that is still with us today. Most organizations are like a pyramid, with one ‘oga at the top’, the MD/CEO; the higher you go, the fewer the available positions and the stiffer the competition. Since there are not enough positions to go around, a lot of factors outside the company’s manual come into play. Eye service, butt licking, backstabbing, etc sometimes come into play. Sometimes, a spiritual and diabolical dimension is thrown into the fray. The battle is hardly about service, innovation, company vision, etc. It is a survival of the fittest and the prize is money and power. People have been assassinated because of a business deal, land tussle, etc. Friendships and partnerships have gone sour because of money, material possessions, or power.

We can all win

When a group of young men the same age join a company, only one of them can become the CEO. However, with an abundance mindset, all of them that desire to be CEO can achieve that dream. They can move to other companies after gaining enough experience or start their own companies. The economy is in dire need of startup companies to absorb the growing army of unemployed. When Steve Jobs was sacked in 1985 by the board of Apple, the company he formed, he did not take the board to a court or hire an assassin to take out his opponents. He started other companies – NeXT and Pixar and went on to do fantastic things till Apple started to get into trouble and he returned on a rescue mission as CEO in 1996.

Changing your mindset

If you have a poverty mindset, developing an abundance mindset will not happen overnight. You have to come to the realization that there is more than enough. There is no need for strife. No one can take what truly belongs to you. It will always come back if you remain true to yourself.

The issue becomes; how do you get to this place of awareness? Knowledge is key; though knowledge is not enough, it is a good place to start. In your journey of personal growth and development, you get to that ‘aha’ moment when you finally get it. We have different ways of getting there, the same way we have different ways of learning. For most, it is to keep learning till you get to the tipping point whereby you have learned enough. Also, mentors can play a key role. Anyhow you do it, you need to get to that place where you experience a paradigm shift and see the world through the eyes of abundance rather than lack.

What we see is a choice

If you take your mind briefly off the rat race and observe nature, you will observe that the universe is brimming with abundance. Apart from areas devastated by the activity of humans, there is no lack in nature. There is more than enough to go around. There are more than enough fishes in the ocean and animals in the forests and savannah. Of all of God’s creatures, it seems only humans have the unique ability to create scarcity out of abundance.

Rather than nurture and produce more, we try to exploit. You see it everywhere around you. I have often witnessed a traffic jam created by two cars on an open road. Due to a constriction in the road due to double parking, both drivers want to pass at the same time, and in the end, nobody moves. As they stand arguing, more cars join the queue, and gridlock is created. Often it takes uneducated bystanders to resolve a mess created by supposedly educated folks dressed up in suits and ties.

An abundance mindset seeks to give, yield, and do something to make things better, not worse. The focus is on how to make things better. This is the driving force of new startups. A need is identified and a system is put in place to meet the need. If the need is identified correctly and met, then you have a win–win situation.

One sign that you are developing an abundance mindset is when you start focusing on how to make things better, innovate, give, and grow capacity rather than focusing on how to grab your share of the limited pie.

An abundance mindset will enable you to see the seed in your income and propel you to seek to multiply it. It helps you see opportunities and possibilities rather than limitations and excuses. An abundance mentality makes you realize that there is enough room for everyone under the sun. You do not need to pull someone down to be able to shine. There is more than enough sky for every bird to fly.

It all comes back to our paradigm, the lens through which we see things. We think we see things the way they are, whereas in reality, our perception colors what we see. We look for evidence to confirm what we already believe as true. It takes an open mind to appreciate another point of view.

When you have an abundance mindset, you can be, do, or have whatever you strongly desire. You can dream big dreams. You are free to be yourself and run your own race. You are not envious of others’ success because there is enough to go around and your time will come. You don’t have to trip up others in order to rise. Your rising pulls up others. You’re becoming yourself makes the world a better place. As you think about abundance, start giving your gifts and talents to make things better, and you start to experience abundance as you get better and better. You finally get to understand that giving does not diminish you, it makes you shine brighter, and that it is truly more blessed to give than to receive.