You. Look no futher: the world of abundance is within you. Your hopes and dreams, skills and talents: it is all within you. Your rich source. Your playground. Your treasure chest.
Abundance is here for all of us, and still it is a mindset that we have to learn. The world constantly pulls us to the other end of the spectrum, scarcity. We constantly hear what is not good enough and what we are missing. To be able to successfully grow and develop, we need to tap into our abundance, our own self.
Not enough versus solid ground to build on
Scarcity makes a wreck out of life. Of everyone’s life. Scarcity constantly says: ‘There is not enough’, ‘You are not enough’, ‘More, more’, ‘Better, better’, ‘Go, go, go’. Nothing satisfies it, nothing meets its standards.
Whoever plays the scarcity game, she will always lose. Starting from a disadvantage and chasing an imaginary, sketchy, nonexistent ideal. Putting herself behind even before the race has started.
Not gauging her strength, but looking at what she is not able to do, not able to accomplish, not able to have. What she is missing.
Scarcity only breeds scarcity. There is nothing that would fill the void, that would bring the missing pieces. We continue to chase this void, this lack, instead of looking at the whole, the totality of what we can build on.
In self-development, what makes you successful is starting from abundance – looking at the whole and the building blocks that are already there. Once you appreciate this, it helps you to emerge from the destructive spiral of never enough. This buils your spirit – starting with getting to know and further polish who you are, what you can do, what you can do best! Where your power and energy is coming from, what brings you joy, where you feel at home. These are the starting points and the foundations of long-term positivity. Literally. This is your piece of land where you can build your house on.
Self-development in practice, starting from scarcity or abundance
The thinking process which is keen to find the bad things in the good, looking for ‘what is not there’, with the perspective of ‘what does not live up to standard’, does not bear fruit. If we approach people solely by the premise of what they do not know, what their weaknesses are, what they miss, then they (and ultimately we) will only make progress through a lot of sweat and tears. We can spend years, a lot of money and energy on improving someone capabilities, training them and teaching them, but all this could be an uphill battle.
I am not talking about getting some basic skills, such as learning a computer program or learning to play the violin if you are passionate about doing that.
What I mean is when we look at someone with the skewed view of scarcity, and pushing them to fill whatever perceived gap they might have or what we think is in their best interest. It can turn into a dangerous game, where we are trying to make introverts into extroverts, writers into mathematicians and force people to fit into a company culture that feels to them like a straight jacket.
I have seen this and experienced this at multiple places. Well-meaning as it may be, coming from a negative angle it rarely leads to motivation and success.
What works and motivates, what truly builds the spirit is appreciating a person in his/her totality, exploring all that they bring and have to offer. Their character, skills and knowledge, their life experiences, their attitude. Their hidden talents and potential to learn and develop, blossom and grow. Approaching people from this viewpoint of abundance elevates them, opens their mind and gives them confidence to spread their wings. It helps them to figure out where they truly feel at home, what they are best at and where their creativity and personality can thrive. Where they can thrive because of who they are and what they can. Not because of who they should be and who they struggle to become.
When you think about your own development, start with the mindset of abundance. Ask yourself the questions: Who am I? What do I know? What do I do best? What makes me joyful, creative, motivated? By looking at all your gifts, instead of what you might be missing, you allow a personal and grounded story to unfold. Solid ground you can stand on and from where you can look around and ask: ‘Given all of this, where will I g(r)o(w) from here?’
