Is It Your Mindset? How Your Thinking Can Directly Affect Your Success in All Areas of Life

Do you ever look around and wonder how other people succeed in life and you just feel like a failure? You don’t understand why you can’t get a better job, make more money, be happier, more confident, and have better relationships. You tend to blame everything from your childhood to your circumstances, but it doesn’t change the fact that you are stuck in a big rut.

So many people waste their lives blaming a crappy lot in life and never spend time looking inward to the source of the problem which is their mindset.

Our mindset is the sum of every thought, belief, and opinion that has been passed down to us or learned through our own experience. It’s the driving force behind our action or inaction and the one that we choose to adopt determines the path we take in life.

One path will have you Living in abundance and the other struggling in scarcity. The important thing is that YOU get to decide which path you choose. Which one will you place in the driver’s seat?

Let’s dig into the key differences between abundance and scarcity and see how they both impact your success.

Abundant Mindset

Here are a few ways that developing an abundance mindset will allow you to live a more fulfilled, exciting, and successful life.

You Have More Than Enough – An abundant mindset revolves around the idea that there is plenty for everyone. Money, Time, Resources, Love, Opportunity, Success – it’s all out there, ready and waiting for you (and everyone else) to take a piece of the pie.

Change is welcome – You understand that change is necessary for growth and will actively seek out opportunities to step outside your comfort zone and embrace new ventures in life and business. You look at failure as an opportunity to learn instead of giving up as soon as you hit the first obstacle. 

You are Happy for Others – Rather than being threatened by another’s good fortune, you are genuinely happy and supportive of someone else’s success. You enjoy seeing others receive abundance in their life because you know there is more than enough to go around.

Optimistic Attitude – An optimistic, positive attitude is another attribute of someone who adopts this mentality. You see limitless possibilities in front of you and choose to have a positive outlook no matter what happens in life. You can move forward despite your circumstances and focus more on what is working and going well in life rather than what is not.

Practicing Gratitude – A huge part of an abundance mindset is the ability to practice gratitude daily. When you have a grateful heart it’s easier to notice even the smallest blessings. You will tend to focus more on what you have than what you lack and always find something to be thankful for.

Scarcity Mindset

These are just a few ways that a scarcity mindset will hold you back and keep you from realizing your true potential.

Fear – A scarcity mindset keeps a person rooted in fear – fear of the unknown, fear of change, fear of the future. You may avoid taking risks and rarely leave your comfort zone because the possibility of failure is too strong. This can greatly impact your career choice as well as how much money you make.

Comparison Trap – You constantly feel the need to compare yourself to others when living with a scarcity mindset.  You tend to base your self-worth entirely upon how well you measure up to everyone else. This is a lose-lose situation and a vicious cycle that will keep you from experiencing true connections with others.

Living in Lack – Scarcity will have you believing that there is a limit to everything – time, money, resources, opportunity, love, and success. There is always a fear that there won’t be enough which can lead to over-indulgence and competitiveness. Someone with this mindset will find it hard to share and give to others which can have a negative impact on relationships.  

Jealousy/Envious of Others – You’ll find it hard to be happy for others when you are living with a scarcity mindset. You feel threatened by others’ success and celebrate when they fail only because you lack confidence in your own life and feel like success is never within your reach.

Pessimistic Attitude – With a scarcity mindset, you focus entirely on what is wrong with your life and are stuck in a continuous pity party. Your outlook on the future is mediocre at best and you tend to be a “worst-case scenario” type of person. You see your current situation as permanent which impacts your ability to see any other opportunities.

Both abundance and scarcity have a huge impact on your life – It’s easy to see which one is preferable between the two, however, it all depends on you. The first step is becoming aware of your thoughts and deciding which life you want to live.