Scarcity Mindset: When Is It Ever Good Enough?
- Megs Crawford
- Aug 9
- 3 min read
Do you think billionaires have a scarcity mindset?
What is a scarcity mindset anyway? It’s that familiar feeling that there never seems to be enough. It’s about holding on to the cardboard box because “What if I need it one day?” It’s about holding on to all the TV streaming apps because “what if I need to watch something and I don’t have it?”
It’s about spending money on a “good deal” because what if that good deal is not there when I need it?” It’s this idea that even when we have the tangible item, the thing, the money, or the promotion, it’s never good enough.
When does it get to be good enough?
When more never feels like enough
As humans, many of us are living in a world where we could buy something today and it could arrive at our doorstep within twenty-four hours. We also have more stuff in our homes than previously imaginable. On one hand, we don’t want to let go because it could mean that one day we go to find that item and it’s not there. On the other hand, we have no idea where that item is when we need it and end up buying a new one anyway.
Many of us have more than we could possibly need in life and yet it almost seems like we’re more afraid than ever.
Many of us have more than we could possibly need in life and yet it almost seems like we’re more afraid than ever.
FEAR. It drives so much of what we do, who we are, and how we show up in the day-to-day to live our lives. Or, in the case of fear, “survive our lives”.
Where your scarcity mindset is hiding
So do billionaires have a scarcity mindset? As a non-billionaire (and non-millionaire) myself, I couldn’t say for sure, but I imagine they got to the point they’re at because it was never enough. It’s mind-boggling literally because as humans we can’t even picture what having that much money actually means.
If you, like me, are not a part of the one-percent, how do we identify what is good enough and eliminate the scarcity mindset?
We practice.
If we have been living our whole lives in fear and that’s what our society encourages in what we see to keep us buying more, then we need to notice where our scarcity mindset is showing up. Document it. See the trends and the patterns.
Then get really curious about what good enough could mean for you. And as you get curious, where is the good enough already showing up in your life? Can you practice being grateful for this?
Here’s the thing, this is not a hack. This is not a quick fix, and this is not something that is going to magically make your life better.
This comes back to identifying where we are living our lives in fight or fight and learning how to respond to our environment instead of reacting.
The pause before you keep the cardboard box
It’s about pausing before we keep another cardboard box and asking, “Is this something I need right now or can I practice being uncomfortable for a moment and let it go?”
It’s pausing and saying, “What’s the one streaming app I want to keep right now, and canceling the others for the moment” (because those decisions are not permanent)
It’s pausing and saying, “Even though this is a good deal, I’m going to pass on this because I have so many good deals collecting dust in my home right now.”
Getting familiar with abundance
All of this pausing is uncomfortable. But it’s a good discomfort. It’s just our brain saying this is not familiar. Scarcity is the familiar for so many of us. But what if we decided it wasn’t anymore?
I don’t know about you, but I want to be familiar with abundance.
Megs
The Perfect Place to Start
is where you and I do that together, one on one.
Megs is a certified ADHD coach, podcast host, and the real, distractible human behind Organizing an ADHD Brain. She helps people stop fighting their brains and start working with them, one small, doable win at a time.
Name your one thing to let go of this week, and practice being familiar with abundance alongside people who get it.
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