Table of contents:
- What is deficit thinking
- What Attitudes Indicate Deficiency Thinking
- How justified is deficit thinking and how it can turn out
- How to let go of deficit thinking
2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44
The belief in a universal lack of resources deprives of new opportunities and causes anxiety.
There is very little money, friends, love and good work and not enough for everyone. All this goes only to the luckiest, fastest and most cunning. Therefore, if you do not grab a tidbit in time, you will be left behind and bite your elbows with envy and annoyance.
If you think in a similar way, you may be a victim of deficient thinking. We will tell you what its peculiarity is and whether it can be influenced.
What is deficit thinking
Steven Covey, an expert in the field of management and personal effectiveness, explores this concept in detail in his book “Being, Not Seeming”. He defines scarce thinking as an attitude that makes it seem to us that the resources in the world are severely limited and not everyone will get it. Moreover, we are talking about material benefits, and about such as a happy relationship with a good person, friendship, work, interesting opportunities, success.
Covey uses an entertaining metaphor that captures the essence of what is happening well.
Stephen Covey
People with a deficit mindset are convinced that there is only one pie in the world and that if someone takes a piece, they will get less. This position leads to a win / lose reasoning: if you win, I lose, and I can't let that happen.
A striking example of such a worldview is the story of the shops devastated in the midst of a pandemic. Buckwheat and toilet paper disappeared from the shelves, not because there was not enough of them, but because people were afraid to buy food in whole boxes: what if the food runs out and we all die?
Another graphic illustration is the envy of more successful people. It is born largely because it seems to us that our own piece of success has been taken away from us. And if one is happy and rich, then there is less happiness and wealth in the world.
What Attitudes Indicate Deficiency Thinking
The world is divided into lucky and losers
Some are always lucky and have enough of everything, because they were born in a wealthy family or have a commercial streak, enterprise, cunning, charm and other talents. And others are forced to lag behind. At the same time, there are no semitones and cannot be: you are either a winner or a loser.
All people are competitors
So you can't help, share information, make friends, support. After all, absolutely any person is just waiting to take away a good opportunity from another and take his place.
Constant fear of not being able to get somewhere
Due to scarce thinking, a person, for example, monitors job sites day and night, even if he has a job. Suddenly a dream vacancy will be published there, and he will respond late - and will miss the main and, of course, the only chance in life.
Greed
A person with a “scarcity mindset” begins to practice austerity, is afraid to wear new clothes, is afraid to “waste” an extra minute: what if the resources run out and there will be no more?
How justified is deficit thinking and how it can turn out
Let's be honest: some of the good stuff really isn't enough for everyone. The number of places in a prestigious university is limited, as is the number of air tickets during the high season or the number of bags from a limited collection. Therefore, if your goal is to get something specific and rather rare, it is quite logical and correct to fuss, worry and watch the beginning of the filing of documents or the start of sales.
But globally, the resources are almost endless. If a person misses an interesting vacancy, this does not mean that another will not appear. If a friend earned a million, he did not take this money from you and did not deprive you of the opportunity to become richer. And in this case, the installation Help! There is very little of everything in the world, and you need to gnaw out all the good with your teeth”can do a lot of harm.
This is how deficit thinking affects our lives.
Leads to anxiety
Deficient thinking is associated with the fear of missing out - FoMO (fear of missing out). Because of him, we worry that we will miss something important: an interesting event, a good job or internship, the opportunity to learn new things or make a useful acquaintance - and we live in constant tension and anxiety.
Interferes with building relationships
Envy, alertness and confidence that man is a wolf to man, frankly speaking, is not the best platform for friendship, love or partnership.
Deprives us of the good
Paradoxically, scarce thinking often takes away resources and opportunities instead of helping to preserve them.
Let's say a person is so afraid of losing money that he doesn't invest it anywhere, but puts it under a mattress or in a bank account with low interest rates. Or he thinks that if he was unlucky once, then the door slammed shut forever - and does not try to get a dream job again, participate in competitions, build a business, enter a university where he always wanted to study.
Or she blames external circumstances and mythical scarcity for her failures, instead of taking responsibility and trying to change something.
How to let go of deficit thinking
Stephen Covey believes that you need to transform scarce thinking into abundance thinking, that is, switch to the idea that there are enough "pies", wealth, joyful events, good people in the world. Here are some ideas on how to do this.
Change settings
Write down the “scarce” thought that came to your mind and try to reformulate it into something more constructive and life-affirming. For example:
“I didn’t enter the Institute of Dreams, which means that nothing good awaits me” → “Now I haven’t enrolled, but this is a chance to better prepare and try again next year. Or choose another good institute."
Share
Help others financially, if possible, do not be afraid to donate time and energy, share information, knowledge and plans. This will help to understand that resources do not disappear without a trace and there will be enough for everyone.
Keep a gratitude journal
Several times a week, record things and events for which you can say thank you - parents, friends, the universe, yourself. This practice teaches you to notice all the good things in your life, appreciate it and focus on the positive moments, and not on the fact that you are missing something.
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