3 Ways to Fight the Scarcity Mindset with Minimalism

What is the scarcity mindset? How does it affect our decisions and what can we do about it? Will the minimalist lifestyle help or does it just introduce more “scarcity” to our lives? 

I just got back from a trip to Southern California, back to my pretty small town. In my small-ish town we have Walmart and Target and a mall and we have a lot more places to eat than we used to and a few fun things to do, like you know, outside. Hiking, biking, bowling, frisbee golf, a movie theater. But the options we have are nothing in comparison to what is available in the bigger cities and more densely populated areas of this country. 

We have a lot of fun when we visit my husband’s family in California and we take full advantage of the abundance of variety in entertainment and food options when we are there. Still, when I came home this time I was relieved. By the end of our trip I was feeling very overwhelmed. It felt like we would never be able to try all the places and all the things and furthermore, we wouldn’t be able to afford it. I said to a friend something like; “There are just too many choices!” 

I think that might be the perfect example of the scarcity mindset we have all heard about and how minimalism is able to help us. I know that sounds crazy but stick around and you’ll see what I mean. 

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What is The Scarcity Mindset? 

I recently read the book, Scarcity: The New Science of Having Less and How it Defines Our Lives by Sendhill Mullainathan and Eldar Shafir and it was very interesting. It focuses mostly on how poverty affects people’s decisions but it also touches on how the idea that you have too little, the feeling of scarcity, can affect you in regards to time, relationships, and even dieting. 

To put it simply the scarcity mindset is the way you think any time you feel that you have limited resources. It changes the way you make decisions because it adds stress to your brain. There are pros and cons to that stress. It may make you hyper-focused on a task so that you achieve it more quickly but it also leads to tunnel vision that causes you to miss important things, stress which causes you to make desperate choices, and a feeling that you will never catch up which becomes self fulfilling. 

All of us, even in a world of abundance, even if we aren’t struggling with true poverty, can fall into the scarcity mindset. But how can we dig our way out of it?

Fighting the Scarcity Mindset with Appreciation

One of the keys to avoiding the scarcity mindset is to appreciate what you have. Sometimes we get so focused on all the things we could do, all the things we want to do, and all the things modern society makes us think we need or have to do that we forget life really doesn’t have to be so complicated.

Even if we aren’t completely comfortable in life, do we have enough to eat and a roof over our head? Do we have a family who loves us and happy moments from time to time? A lot of us have a lot more than that. But do we appreciate it? 

If you are feeling broke or bored, look back on your year. Did you make any good memories? Did you do any cool stuff? What were the happy times? Take time to appreciate all you have. Think about your abundance more than you think about what you lack and you will find yourself jumping out of the scarcity mindset. 

Simplify Your Schedule to Get out of the Scarcity Mindset

One thing a lot of people deal with is a scarcity mindset about time. They feel like they are always behind, they never have enough time to do everything they need to do, and they are failing. This feeling causes us to become stressed and when we are stressed our mental bandwidth goes way down which leads to bad choices. 

So what is the solution to having the scarcity mindset about time? Well, it may seem crazy when I say this but you have to create slack in your schedule. That slack, or time that isn’t strictly scheduled, allows for unexpected occurrences and catching up on things. It may sound impossible but you need to find gaps in your schedule and when you find them you need to guard them. 

Because I feel like the scarcity mindset in relation to time is probably my biggest struggle I can definately share what has helped me. I’ve learned to manage my time and reduce stress by creating slack in my schedule. How? Using a planner to see my whole week laid out has helped a lot. With my planner I’m able to more evenly distribute the tasks I need to do and identify openings. I’ve also learned how to say no, even though I’m a natural born helper. And finally, I often reevaluate what I’m spending time on so that I can completely delete obligations. 

Look at your life, really look at it. Look at your daily schedule, your obligations, your chores. Try to find ways to create systems that make those tasks easier.  Then get rid of whatever isn’t serving you. That’s time minimalism and it will save you from the scarcity mindset in your schedule. 

Owning Less Stuff to Avoid the Scarcity Mindset 

The next way that minimalism can help us with the scarcity mindset is by the simple fact that minimalism encourages us to own less stuff. But doesn’t owning less stuff mean scarcity? Isn’t that counterintuitive?

Not at all! The problem with our consumer society is it makes us think we need more stuff than anyone in the thousands of years before us ever dreamed of having. And when we don’t have the latest phone, a nice house, a fancy car, and all the latest clothing we feel like we are broke. We drop right into the scarcity mindset even though we are not actually in scarcity. And that scarcity mindset can lead us into credit card debt, predatory loans, and working way more than is good for our health. 

Instead, when we look at what we really need, it’s often much less than what we have been striving for. When we let ourselves want less we break the cycle of consumerism which cuts off the feelings of lack. When we have less stuff we have less to store, take care of, worry about, and get rid of. Ironically, the solution to the scarcity mindset for a lot of people is letting yourself want less. 

Calming the Scarcity Mindset When You Have Real Need 

Now, most of this post has been aimed at those who are not in real poverty, are not indeed wondering how to pay their bills and buy food. But what if you really are in a situation of need? Well, in that case it’s only natural that you would fall into the scarcity mindset. But how can you calm it so that you still make good decisions? 

Well, the key is to recognize that because you are worried about money your bandwidth is very taxed. You do not have the mental energy for a lot of extra things. That’s okay. Financial turnarounds can happen to anybody at any time. They don’t have to defeat you. 

Once you have accepted the situation it’s important to take the time to think about the best way to get the financial aid you need without falling into a debt cycle. Really look at what you will owe if you take a speedy loan versus using a credit card versus applying for a bank loan. Consider small ways to earn more or spend less. Look for easy courses that can help you move into a better paying job instead of big degrees that will take years. And as soon as possible, start saving a little money aside to create slack for unexpected expenses. 

The key is to use your scarcity mindset as a way to hyper-focus on the solution instead of letting it stress you out to the point where you are just fighting a new fire each day.

Let Go of the Scarcity Mindset and Enjoy the Minimalist Lifestyle

Now that you understand the scarcity mindset you surely see that it’s just that, a mindset. It’s something you can step out of with the right set of tools. It’s something that, in most cases besides actual poverty, is actually subjective. 

In California I felt the scarcity mindset because I would never have enough time, energy, or money to enjoy all the great food and fun activities that were available. At home I could feel the scarcity mindset because I clean houses and live with my parents even though there are many non-money factors involved in that situation. During my weeks I could feel scarcity because I don’t have enough time to work, volunteer, keep up with chores, and do all the fun hobbies I’m interested in. 

But in reality, there is no scarcity. There is, in fact, plenty. Too much! More than enough! In fact, the minimalist lifestyle helps me see that it’s ok to choose what’s most important to me and it’s okay to let go of the rest. I need less because I want less and that makes the scarcity mindset disappear! 

If you would like to simplify your life so that you can escape the scarcity mindset with the help of the minimalist lifestyle I can help! I wrote a whole book about how you can simplify your home, your chores, and even your goals so that you can make your life look exactly the way you’ve always dreamed it would be! To get started grab Doable Simplicity (minimalism for normal people) today!