{"id":26728,"date":"2014-07-18T05:00:22","date_gmt":"2014-07-18T10:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/michaelhyatt.com\/?p=26728"},"modified":"2014-07-18T05:00:22","modified_gmt":"2014-07-18T10:00:22","slug":"perceived-scarcity-outrageous-abundance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/perceived-scarcity-outrageous-abundance\/","title":{"rendered":"Perceived Scarcity in a World of Outrageous Abundance"},"content":{"rendered":"

When we see what others have, is our basic reaction to notice what we\u2019re missing or express gratitude for what we have?<\/p>\n\n

I\u2019ve thought a lot about about this question<\/a> over the years but came back to it recently when I found myself feeling a little jealous over all the vacation posts popping up on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.<\/p>\n

At some point the serene beaches, beautiful lakes, and mountaintop views started getting to me. I felt like I was missing out. Maybe you\u2019ve felt this way too.<\/p>\n

But here\u2019s what\u2019s strange about my reaction: I\u2019m going on vacation in just a few weeks. I\u2019m not missing out on anything. So why do I feel as if I am?<\/p>\n

Our Culture of Scarcity<\/h3>\n

Too often we focus on what we lack instead of what we have. According to researcher Bren\u00e9 Brown, we live in a culture of perceived scarcity, what she calls in Daring Greatly<\/a><\/em> \u201cour culture of ‘never enough.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Brown says we start off the morning thinking we didn\u2019t get enough sleep, go through the day thinking we don\u2019t have enough time, and fall asleep thinking we we failed to accomplish enough tasks. Whatever we have, do, or get, it\u2019s never enough.<\/p>\n

Throughout the day, as we interact with others, we are painfully aware of what we\u2019re missing: looks, smarts, talent, luck, money, peace, creativity\u2014you name it.<\/p>\n

But here\u2019s the problem. Not only are all of these comparisons discouraging and even debilitating, they distort and hide the tremendous gifts we have been given.<\/p>\n

Outrageous Abundance<\/h3>\n

Regardless of our culture of perceived scarcity\u2014or our individual circumstances\u2014we all can point to assets, blessings, and gifts in our lives.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why I say perceived<\/em> scarcity. It\u2019s not real. Yes, there are a million things we don\u2019t have. But there are a million that we do. If we can see through the right lens, we have all been given more than we can possibly ask or imagine.<\/p>\n

That lens is called gratitude,<\/em> and it\u2019s a lens that amplifies everything good in our lives instead of causing it to shrink to insignificance.<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s the easiest thing to fall into a scarcity mentality, gratitude helps us cultivate a mindset of abundance.<\/p>\n

Three Disciplines of Gratitude<\/h3>\n

To battle the deceptive perception of scarcity I\u2019ve benefited from adopting these three disciplines of gratitude:<\/p>\n

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  1. I start and end the day with prayer.<\/strong> Instead of bookending the day with what I failed to get\u2014sleep or accomplishments or whatever\u2014I try focusing on the blessings I do have and express them in prayer.<\/li>\n
  2. I practice thankfulness.<\/strong> Before I get caught in endless comparisons, I express gratitude for the gifts I do have. I find prayer before meals gives me several natural points in the day to do this.<\/li>\n
  3. I journal my gratitude.<\/strong> Journaling is useful for many things, but expressing and capturing our gratitude is certainly one. Not only do I have the in-the-moment benefit of focusing on the good, I\u2019ve recorded it for later reflection, for those times when things don\u2019t feel like they\u2019re going as well as I had hoped.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The truth is that we will never have more of what we truly desire until we become fully thankful for what we have.<\/p>\n\t\t