Thinking With a Scarcity Mindset and Why It’s a Mistake

Last week, members of the Fisheye team gathered in our office for one of our team meetings. 

Aside from the usual items and updates we share, we began discussing different prospective clients and future strategies.

Somewhere along the way, the topic of “the scarcity mindset” came up.

What is “The Scarcity Mindset,” you might ask?

It’s a very common mindset that many of us find ourselves guilty of entertaining, myself included. But we shouldn’t.

Scarcity Mindset is the belief or idea that there will never be enough— causing us to experience stress and anxiety.

Scarcity is the loud voice in your head that says, “there won’t be enough for me!”

For an agency like Fisheye, that can manifest itself in different ways. 

We can look defensive around clients and prospects, concerned there aren’t enough to go around.

It’s no secret that we’re not the only marketing agency in the Sioux Falls area. There are several groups of crazy talented professionals who are themselves marketing geniuses. 

When we think in a scarcity mindset, we start to believe there isn’t enough business to go around.

What’s worse, we start seeing other people and organizations as our competitors. 

But here’s the big secret: they aren’t. 

It’s true, there are many agencies and organizations in our region. 

But many of them provide different services to different niches. This means we’re not competing. It means we’re passionate about providing high quality marketing services to all of those businesses. 

When we realize this, we’re able to shift from a Scarcity Mindset to an Abundance Mindset. 

An Abundance Mindset is believing there’s enough for everyone. With limitless opportunities in the marketplace, it means more new ideas, more new businesses, and that everyone can get their piece of the pie, because the pie is unlimited! 

Shifting your mindset takes conscious effort, but there are several ways to start the shift in your life.

First, an Abundance Mindset requires you focus on gratitude. 

Instead of playing the comparison game with the people on your Instagram feed, you must focus on what you do have. 

Remind yourself of the blessings you enjoy, the goals your business has accomplished, and the skills of your team. Here’s a key: Stop paying attention to what your neighbor is doing.

Second, an Abundance Mindset looks for new opportunities. When the scarcity mentality says there isn’t enough, an abundance mindset says there’s a new opportunity just waiting around the corner.

These opportunities can be personal or professional. Being open to meeting new people and networking can reveal opportunities, sometimes where you’d least expect. 

Finally, surround yourself with people who have a similar perspective. 

We’ve all heard how we become similar to the company we keep. So if you’re looking to change your mindset, spend time with people who value an abundance mindset as well.

As we begin to shift our focus, we may find that old habits die hard. But when we adopt a mindset of abundance, everybody wins.