Not enough money? How to get rid of a scarcity mindset

2 minute read

Money’s not too tight to mention

To cultivate an ‘enough mindset’, ask yourself what is going well. Can you pay your bills? Are you living a happy life? Do you have savings, or a plan to cut debt? Practise scanning for what is going right and sit with the feeling, embodying it. Psychologist Rick Hanson explores this at rickhanson.net 

Instead of holding on to every penny, spend on things that bring incremental joy: a treasured cup; nice bath oil. Little gestures like leaving change at the coffee shop and small donations to charity are messages to ourselves that there is money. We feel less stuck and engage more in the flow of earning and spending.

‘Money agreements’ are deals we make with ourselves about spending. It may be a random figure for a holiday, or how you split expenditure with a partner. List the parameters you put around spending. Do you wish to make changes? Where did the figure come from? Necessity, or something else? How might you be capping your enjoyment with these self-imposed limits?

Watch the media you consume. Social media can be especially toxic; remember, ‘Comparison is the thief of joy.’ Take a break if you find it triggers feelings of envy and ‘not enough’.

Pay attention to when you fall into scarcity mind games. Pause. Question the thought. Stepping out of automatic scarcity thinking requires noticing when we get caught up in old scripts with no basis in reality. Name it for what it is: ‘Ah, Mum’s words of caution haunting me again!’ Then consider alternatives.

Image: Getty