How to Identify Scarcity Mentality – Prompts & Exercises

Scarcity mentality refers to people seeing life as a finite pie, so that if one person takes a big piece, that leaves less for everyone else.

People with a scarcity mentality often view the world through a lens of scarcity, where they believe that resources, success, love, or happiness are scarce commodities that need to be fiercely protected or acquired at the expense of others. This mindset can affect many aspects of life, including finances, relationships, career, and personal well-being.

This scarcity mentality creates:

• Unnecessary (and often harmful) competition
• The belief of not being enough / being less than
• That there is not enough for everyone out there = if I have something, someone lacks this thing
• Fear-based state of mind and actions, often followed by unhealthy decision making
• Anxiety. stress & overwhelm
• Harmful business models & practices
• And a lot more…

The origins of a scarcity mentality can be traced back to various factors, such as childhood experiences, how you were raised, the society you were in, cultural influences, and personal beliefs.

If you grew up in an environment where resources were limited, or if you experienced scarcity firsthand, this may contribute to the development of this scarcity mentality.

Additionally, society also makes us feel scarcity emphasizing competition, comparison, and the need to accumulate wealth or status.

Adopting a scarcity mindset often leads to behaviors and thought patterns that perpetuate the belief in scarcity. This can manifest as hoarding, excessive worry about the future, a fear of missing out (FOMO), feelings of envy or jealousy, and an overall sense of dissatisfaction and anxiety.

However, it is essential to recognize that a scarcity mentality is not an inherent or fixed trait. It is something that we learned but that can be unlearned and replaced with a mindset of abundance. By shifting our focus from scarcity to abundance, we open ourselves up to new possibilities, growth, and a greater sense of fulfillment.

The first step is to identify your scarcity mindset, and where it comes from. So let’s do that.

Prompts and Exercises to Identify your Scarcity Mentality

Get a journal, and write down the answers to the following questions. Write down the first thing that comes to your mind as soon as you read the question as this will be the answer that is coming from your subconscious mind. This will help you identify your patterns related to scarcity mentality which is the first step towards shifting them.

PROMPT 1
What are your first money memories/earliest experiences with money?
Do you remember any Idioms or Phrases you heard around money? What were the behaviours around money and gifts? At what age? Who said/modelled/taught you these things?

PROMPT 2

What are your parents/ grandparents/ person who raised you money stories?
What did they say? Did they fight around money? Did they easily buy you things you wanted? What was the common theme around money?

PROMPT 3

What about your friends & money?
Was there money awareness between you & your friends? Did they have more/fewer things than you did? How did that affect you?

PROMPT 4

Where else does scarcity show up in my life?
What other areas feel restricted through stories that you learned in childhood or from society? Such as health, time, goals, and family.

PROMPT 5

What stories am I holding onto that relate to these areas?
What is the actual story you tell yourself that you cannot do this? Or do things have to be a certain way?

PROMPT 6

What scarcity programs did/does your family run that keep holding you back? Were you told certain stories about how to live life, how to work, and what family and relationships need to look like? What it means to be a “good man” or a “good woman”? What not to do or you’ll disappoint your family etc.?

PROMPT 7

What kind of wealth/abundance am I not allowing in my life?
Where do you restrict yourself to please others or the stories in your head?

Break the Pattern!

Now you are more aware of where your scarcity mindset comes from and how it manifests in your life. Recognizing the patterns is a powerful step towards breaking free from them.

Now, it’s time to take action and create a shift toward abundance and I’m here to support you on your journey.

Book a 1:1 session with me, and together, we’ll dive deeper into your unique experiences and beliefs, go through the layers of scarcity thinking, and equip you with practical strategies to cultivate an abundant mindset. I’ll help you challenge limiting beliefs, reframe scarcity-based thoughts, and open yourself up to a world of possibilities.

Remember, you have the power to rewrite your story and embrace a mindset of abundance. Don’t let scarcity hold you back from living a fulfilling and abundant life. Book a 1:1 session with me here.