Does Scarcity or Abundance Rule You?

Of course, it’s Thanksgiving week, so who can neglect to write a post related to thankfulness and gratitude?  At Horizon Point, our thoughts on this stem from a focus we’ve seen emerging this year tied to an abundance instead of a scarcity mindset. 

As we’ve met with people throughout the year and also examined our own behaviors, clear patterns emerge. You can almost immediately see whether a person, an organization, or a community is coming from a mindset of scarcity or abundance. 

Scarcity displays a mindset that in order for me to win, someone else has to lose. 

Abundance is seen in the desire to create win-win situations.  

Scarcity points the finger and plays the blame game. Abundance is seen in taking ownership of our actions and outcomes. 

Scarcity places limits. Abundance sees endless possibilities. 

Scarcity focuses inward, seeking to hoard the credit.  Abundance focuses on outward collaboration because it doesn’t matter who gets the credit. 

Scarcity says do it my way. Abundance says multiple perspectives and approaches can work. 

Scarcity focuses on binaries. It’s either right or wrong, good or bad.  Abundance realizes that there is duality and continuums in all of life.  That we can hold fast to things like accountability and expectations while at the same time hold fast to empathy and grace.  It realizes one can’t effectively exist without the other. 

Scarcity focuses on its own needs and wants. It never gets enough. Abundance focuses on gratitude.

And out of that gratitude flows what we like to call Graceful Accountability (thanks to Jillian on our team for creating this curriculum this year) and Graceful Leadership. 

As we approach the holiday season, let us do so with an attitude of abundance and from that abundance let us act and lead with gratitude and grace.