What Is a Scarcity Mindset?

Finding your way out of a scarcity mindset requires you to shift your thinking, which isn’t always easy. Here are some tips for changing your mindset.

What Is a Scarcity Mindset?

You’re in a scarcity mindset when you become obsessed with a lack of something—usually time, money, or ability. The obsession is so intense that you can’t focus on anything else, Bierbrauer explains.

The term “scarcity mindset” originated to describe a specific type of anxiety and cognitive stress that people often experience when they have below-poverty-level incomes. However, having a scarcity mindset isn’t always about money. It could be triggered by events like losing your job, being overloaded with debt, trying to lose weight, ending a relationship, having a never-ending to-do list, or reliving trauma from the past.

For instance, you may be so overwhelmed with completing the work tasks that you have little time for your favourite activities. You might fixate on how quickly time passes and how little fun you have.

It’s understandable to want things in life and get upset when things don't go your way, but when the lack of something consumes your thoughts, it’s not good for you.

What Are Some Signs You’re Stuck in a Scarcity Mindset?

Besides centring your thoughts on what you're lacking, here are some signs that you might have a scarcity mindset include:

• Thinking you always lose and others always win

• Viewing others as competitors

• Being overly controlling

• Being pessimistic

• Feeling like you’re always behind

• Being impatient

• Overscheduling yourself

• Feeling depressed or paralyzed

• Saying yes to opportunities that aren’t right for you because you fear you won’t receive other opportunities

• Struggling with concentration

• Feeling dissatisfied

• Experiencing low self-esteem

• Believing you’re not enough

• Comparing yourself to others