5 skills I've acquired thanks to a scarcity mindset

The glass doesn't always have to be half-empty!

I know that having a scarcity mindset doesn't really sound to positive. But I truly believe that having one is always that bad as most of us may think. Even when you have the scarcity mindset instead of the more desirable abundance mindset, life can still be filled with positive lessons. You may not realize it immediately, but there will be a moment in the future that you suddenly realize a few new skills have risen to the surface thanks to your scarcity mindset. I've learned from experience that a scarcity mindset doesn't always have to be limiting to your life in general. You may find that these learned skills will come in handy in the future when the scarcity mindset belongs to the past already.

How does one get a scarcity mindset anyway?

I believe this can happen due to several reasons, I can share with you where mine was born. Or should I say that I was born into a family where the mindset was scarce already? Growing up and realizing that you aren't as spoiled as most of the other kids at school makes it crystal clear that something is different at home. Also, when you hear about fun trips to amusement parks every weekend or even weekends to a hotel/holiday park or frequent holiday trips, you can't deny feeling a bit sad that this isn't possible at home. At least, that's how I felt. I didn't blame my mother, ever, but I did feel quite jealous from time to time when most classmates had more to talk about thanks to their fun trips while I was stuck at home.

I grew up feeling that money was hard to get, savings weren't a thing and debts were normal. Even though I didn't really have an opinion about some of these things growing up, I know that my subconscious had registered that it was normal to live from paycheck to paycheck.

It's probably no surprise to you that in my adult life I already had a pretty well developed scarcity mindset. With that mindset, I usually thought the glass was half empty rather than half full. Seeing the positive things in negative events was not something that I mastered for most of my life. Thankfully, there was this turning point, and I can now proudly say that the scarcity mindset years weren't in vain as I've acquired some valuable skills along the way.

Asking for help

I've learned that one should not be ashamed of the fact that money is tight. Life happens and many people know from experience how challenging it can be to have a lack of money or resources to get through the month. We all face challenges during our life, although not all of us face the same level of hardships to understand fully how living without enough money can affect one's mindset.

Although someone may feel ashamed (at first) for the scarcity of funds in their life, and trying to hide this for others, I've learned that people are often very willing to help (in their own way). And on top of that, if you never asked their help when needed, and they find out later how hard you've been struggling, they can be offended because you didn't ask them for assistance or advice.

If people can't or don't want to help, they can always say no, but if you never ask, you will never know if they can assist you in any way. Sometimes even the smallest effort can help a lot. For example, you have a job interview and no babysitter, as you can't afford one, you only need an hour of someone's time. Maybe the neighbor is available, but you never dared to ask. I learned that help can come from the most unexpected people.

Gratitude

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder they say. I believe this is true. I used to feel unlucky, unhappy and see things from the negative point of view. Most-likely, I wasn't grateful for the little things as often as I should have been. My mood was focused on solving problems, paying bills, working hard to earn more money etc. There was no time for me to truly enjoy the little things in life because I felt wrecked, I was tired and not in the mood to be spontaneous.

Once I've experienced a so called rock bottom, it felt as if I had to built everything up from scratch and therefore every little achievement felt like a victory and by experiencing this, I learned to appreciate the little things in life again. I felt grateful for being able to buy groceries without counting them before arriving them at the cashier desk (being afraid I'd be short on money otherwise). I truly enjoyed the little cuddles of a cat when it came to demand some love. Flowers caught my attention for years (and still do) since I learned to appreciate the things I took for granted most of my life.

Taken by me yesterday during a walk in the park.

Bartering

When you don't have the option to buy all the groceries you need and are looking at empty shelves in your kitchen cabinets, you are challenged to be creative. Maybe before you were picky on what kind of sauce you'd eat on your spaghetti, but now the scarcity is getting you out of your comfort zone and try new things.

One of the great skills I've acquired is bartering. You'd be surprised how many groups on FB you will find that offer left over food or meal portions to pick up for free. On top of that you will find a world of people offering food that they have in abundance for some reason, while having a scarcity of another item. Maybe you can make a barter deal! I've made so many that I can't even count them anymore.

Extra points for not wasting any food thanks to bartering.

Out-of-the-box thinking

Maybe this skill also fits a bit in the above category because it was out-of-the-box thinking that made me find my way to barter deals online. But also think about finding ways to save money in ways you never heard about before. If you have a scarcity of money you will get creative to find your way to save monthly on certain utilities or maybe there's a way to monetize something you're good at and publish this online on platforms like #leofinance & #hive. I would have never guessed that I could write something and share it with the world, receive upvotes in a digital currency that would eventually could be swapped for fiat money and land on my bank account.

Scarcity is a great reason to unlock your creative mind! At first, out of need, but later in life it can turn out to be a valuable life skill.

Writing

I remember that I used to write poems or love letters when I was in my teens, but I never used writing as a form of self-healing or seeing things from another angle. This is a skill I picked up when the hardships in my life were piling up to a level that I could not cope anymore, I needed a way to vent, and writing became the way. Writing to me became healing and I'm thankful today that I discovered my passion for writing during that phase in my life. Maybe I would have never known because I got sucked up in life the way I had been sucked up before. After writing things down, I can look at a problem from a distance, think about it, and often the solution comes to me within the next days. This is such a valuable skill, I would recommend writing to anyone that feels stuck. Don't worry about grammar, just write for yourself only if you don't want to share things. It may be enough for you to feel relieved and feel relief.

Do you have a scarcity or abundance mindset? I would like to hear your thoughts about this topic as well. Feel free to leave a comment below!

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