What Is a Scarcity Mindset?
A scarcity mindset is a way of thinking that focuses on something you don’t have enough of. This scarce resource is often money or time, but it also could be other things such as emotional support. If you have a scarcity mindset, you are so obsessed with what you lack that you can’t seem to focus on anything else, no matter how hard you try.
This intense focus on scarcity uses up your “mental bandwidth,” or your brain’s capacity to deal with other things. Your attention is focused on what you lack, as if you have tunnel vision. You can’t see what’s outside the tunnel, so you may neglect other needs or obligations. This can harm your mental state, increase stress, and lead to poor decision-making.
Scarcity vs. Abundance Mindset
With a scarcity mindset, you think resources are limited. This might mean that if someone else has a resource, you think there’s less of it available for you. But with an abundance mindset, you think that enough resources are available for everyone.
With an abundance mindset, you can see opportunities and possibilities that you might miss with a scarcity mindset, when you’re fixated on one thing.
For example, if you’re job hunting with a scarcity mindset, you might think there aren’t enough jobs available in your field. With an abundance mindset, you might focus on how your experience equips you to start a new business.
With an abundance mindset, you’re more able to think long-term and make decisions accordingly, while a scarcity mindset usually has you focused on meeting short-term needs. With a scarcity mindset, you might even make decisions to address the short-term needs that are harmful in the long run.
What Causes a Scarcity Mindset?
You might develop a scarcity mindset for many different reasons. It may stem from past traumas or life-changing events such as having a baby or losing a job.
Childhood experiences and upbringing
If your parents or caregivers had a scarcity mindset, such as due to financial struggles, they may have focused much of their attention on meeting financial needs and less on other things, possibly making bad long-term decisions. They could have passed this approach on to you.
One study found that people who grew up with low socioeconomic resources were more impulsive and took more risks.
Inherited patterns
If a scarcity mindset triggered certain patterns of behavior in your parents, those patterns may have been passed down to you. For example, a scarcity mindset can make people more competitive (because they feel they’re competing for limited resources) and less collaborative. One study looked at the scarcity mindset of parents and their children and found a strong connection between them. Also, in both the parents and the children, the scarcity mindset was linked to competitive behaviors.
Past trauma
Trauma from your past can cause a scarcity mindset because it can lead you to focus on something you lack. For example, if a past trauma was going hungry, a scarcity mindset might cause you to hoard food even when you have plenty.
Societal influence
Sometimes, a scarcity mindset can come from perceived scarcity, even if it’s not an actual scarcity. Societal influence, such as public figures and other people around you, can affect your perceptions of what you lack. For example, if some of your friends have gotten married, you might think you’re the only one still single. That’s focusing on what you don’t have rather than on what you have or on your future.
Signs You May Have a Scarcity Mindset
A scarcity mindset can show up in many different ways in your daily life. Here are some signs that you may have a scarcity mindset.
- You’re more of a pessimist, and you tend to see the glass as half empty, not half full.
- You may forget to pay bills or neglect other responsibilities.
- You have trouble prioritizing long-term goals, although you have no problem with short-term tasks.
- If your coworker gets a promotion or your friend wins an award, you feel annoyed or jealous rather than happy for them.
- It’s hard for you to trust people. A scarcity mindset can make you afraid to lose your relationships.
- You’re reluctant to take risks. Although a scarcity mindset can sometimes lead to overly risky behaviors, it can also cause you to avoid risk entirely because you fear losing something.
- You tend to overschedule yourself, and you always feel like you’re behind.
Effects of a Scarcity Mindset
Scarcity mentality isn’t something you do on purpose. It’s the background noise your brain makes when you can’t get what you want. But it’ll cost you.
Focusing on something you don’t have can take a toll on your mental health. You can get “tunnel vision” when all you think about is the unmet need.
Having a scarcity mentality also affects your brain in other ways and may cause it to work differently.
It lowers your IQ levels
Having a scarcity mentality can lower your IQ score by as many as 14 points. In an experiment, researchers found that people who were preoccupied with scarcity scored 13 to 14 points lower than those who weren’t. It might not seem like much, but 13 or 14 points is the difference between outstanding and average.
It affects decision-making
A scarcity mentality affects your ability to solve problems, retain information, and reason logically. It also impacts your brain’s decision-making process. A scarcity mindset limits your ability to plan, focus, and start a project or task. Your brain is too busy thinking about something you don’t have.
It affects cognitive performance
With a scarcity mindset, your brain is focused on the resources you lack, leaving less bandwidth for other tasks. This can impair your memory and ability to pay attention. One study put people in a situation of time scarcity and found that they were less likely to notice time-saving cues and more likely to forget instructions.
It reduces the ability to empathize
When you’re obsessing over one thing, it’s hard to pay attention to what else is going on, including what’s going on with other people. One study found that a scarcity mindset limited people’s ability to empathize with others’ pain.
It may prevent you from growing
When you see the world as a glass half empty rather than half full, you may miss opportunities. A scarcity mindset can make you focus on the short term, ignoring the long term. And, because you fear losing what you have, it can cause you to avoid healthy risks that might lead to success.
A scarcity mindset can also reduce your confidence in yourself and lead you to doubt your success.
It makes impulse control harder
The decision-making part of your brain also controls impulses. When tunnel vision reduces your brain function, you’re more likely to give in to impulses you usually wouldn’t.
It makes you less collaborative
A scarcity mindset makes you more competitive with others, as if you’re competing with them for limited resources. It makes you less collaborative and cooperative.
How to Overcome a Scarcity Mindset
Overcoming a scarcity mindset doesn’t mean ignoring your unmet needs. But you can work to meet those needs without neglecting everything else. By getting away from a scarcity mindset, you can help maintain your well-being and be open to possibilities. Here are some tips to shift from a scarcity mentality to one of abundance.
Accept the current situation
If you’re focused on an unmet need, you won’t be able to simply ignore it and move on. Accept that you might have negative feelings about the scarce resource, and acknowledge that those feelings are valid. Then you can use some of your attention on what you can change about your approach.
Focus on what you have
With a scarcity mindset, you’re often focused on what you don’t have, forgetting what you do have. Think about the positives you have, such as the people, activities, and things that make you happy in your daily life.
Surround yourself with positive people
The people around you will influence you. Spending time with positive-minded people can help you think the same way.
Practice gratitude
Gratitude has been shown to improve mental health and well-being. Create a gratitude journal and write down five things you’re grateful for every day.
Look for possibilities
Focusing on one thing can train your brain to let other things go unnoticed. Rewire your mind to look for possibilities and solutions instead of letting the problem get you down.
Be happy for others
When you celebrate other people’s successes or abundance, it puts you in an abundance mindset. Instead of focusing on what you don’t have, you’ll be more likely to notice opportunities and attract abundance for yourself.
Tips to Handle a Scarcity Mindset
The tunnel vision caused by a scarcity mindset means other important things fall by the wayside. To free yourself from that tunnel, start organizing your time or automating tasks that might help you build an abundant future.
- Finances. Automate bill payments, and write them on a calendar to keep track. Sign up for a 401(k) plan with your employer, if it’s available, so you can save money without thinking about it.
- Work and rest. Schedule time to step away from your desk and stretch your legs. Get enough sleep at night to help improve work performance and avoid a time-scarcity mentality.
- Exercise. Start exercising with a friend, or make appointments with a personal trainer. It makes you more likely to stick to a healthy lifestyle, which can relieve stress.
- Food. Make one grocery trip each week, plan meals, and stock up on healthy foods. Because a scarcity mindset affects impulse control, planning can help you avoid turning to unhealthy foods.
- Family or social time. Ensure weekly time with loved ones by signing up for an activity or outing you can all do together.
- Self. Free up some time for yourself every week to relax and refocus your energy, even if it’s just a few hours. Managing your time better can help you avoid the feeling of going nonstop.
- Get help. A therapist or other mental health professional can help you get “unstuck” if you think a scarcity mindset is affecting your relationships and holding you back, and you’re not sure how to change it.
Takeaways
With a scarcity mindset, you typically have an intense focus on the lack of some resource, such as time or money. But this kind of tunnel vision makes you unaware of other things going on — including other important responsibilities — and it can impair your cognitive function. By shifting your mindset more toward one of abundance, you can set yourself up for healthier behaviors and more positive possibilities.
Scarcity Mindset FAQs
How do you know if you have a scarcity mindset?
If you tend to focus on something you lack, while you ignore everything else, you might have a scarcity mindset. There are other signs, too, such as forgetting to pay bills and neglecting other responsibilities because you’re preoccupied with what you don’t have.
How can I get out of a mentality of scarcity?
You can get out of a mentality of scarcity by trying to shift your thinking to a mentality of abundance, such as focusing on what you do have, not just on what you don’t have.
What is scarcity trauma?
Scarcity trauma is the trauma or the emotional or psychological harm, that’s caused by long-term scarcity of some essential need.
