Stephen Covey first coined the terms abundance and scarcity mindsets in his book titled “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.” His book has changed the way that people look at success and his ideas are extremely thought provoking in our own lives.
He describes the abundance mindset as a mindset that leads people to a fulfilled life. With an abundance mindset, you can see the bright side of the world and tend to feel more fulfilled with your accomplishments.
On the other hand, the scarcity mindset is akin to pessimism. Those who tend to view their life as scarcely fulfilling. They cannot appreciate the good things and tend to feel fairly negative. This can lead to a never-ending cycle of pain and despair if this mindset is never turned around.
Learning how to adopt the abundance mindset may not be simple, but it is definitely doable. Read below to learn about the five most commonly recognized traits of the abundance mindset.
1| View Failure as an Opportunity
Life is going to send failure your way. This is inevitable. It is unavoidable. However, your reaction to the failure is what will determine what road you end up going down. If you can learn to look at failure as an opportunity to develop resilience, then you can learn to turn something negative into something positive.
2| Be Proactive Instead of Reactive
In order to be proactive, you must develop the ability to avoid impulses and try to stay one step ahead of the game. Being proactive means taking positive steps to avoid stressful, harmful, or potentially negative situations.
On the other hand, being reactive, means reacting to negative, stressful, or harmful situations usually in an impulsive manner. People who are able to master proactivity tend to have less stressful situations in their lives. Learning to be proactive can create a healthy goal of avoiding negative situations.
3| Be Optimistic
This is a difficult step to master. However, being optimistic is a huge goal in adopting the abundance mindset. Remaining optimistic helps you to be grateful for what you do have rather than focusing on what you do not have. Optimism is a proven technique for reducing stress and tension in your life.
4| Keep Good Company
This seems fairly obvious, but the friends and family who surround us each and every day have a huge impact on our mindset. Negative friends and family members can be harmful to our mindset and can add unnecessary stress to our days. You may have to give yourself permission to put some distance between you and those who cause you unnecessary stress.
Instead, surround yourself with friends and family who bring optimism to your lives. Some people have a natural knack for positivity. Those are the friends who will help you learn to adopt the abundance mindset.
5| Do Not View Life as a Competition
Life is not a competition. Only once we learn that we do not have to constantly compare ourselves to others can we truly realize how wonderful we really are. Your life is only yours and no one else can ever live up to your standard. The same is true for other people, you will never achieve the exact same things that they are able to achieve.
This is an even bigger problem in the age of social media. Remember, though, that most of what you see on Social Media is a far stretch from the truth. You do not need an Instagram worthy life to be happy. Adopt the abundance lifestyle and recognize that you already have everything you need to live a fulfilling lifestyle.
