So you think you don’t have a scarcity mindset?
Well, let’s put it to the test if you’re so confident about it.
I registered an oracle, and later it turned into this article. (Yes, I have the consent of the inquirer. No, I won’t reveal his question. Yes, you can speculate to your heart’s content). Therefore, I probably won’t be able to clarify anything further in the comments, since I’m not the author. I just elaborated with my own examples by agreeing with the author; But feel free to use the comments for discussion.
I’ll present you some of the wisdom I’ve learned about abundance (although it’s far from exhaustive) in the shape of limiting statements, and your challenge is to disagree with these statements. Sometimes, you might feel ashamed to admit you still agree with some of them; that’s okay. You don’t need to nail abundance all in one go. Feel free to return to this article as many times as you like.
Feel free, also, to share your own learned wisdom on this same topic.
This is not to guilt or shame anyone (or anyone’s ego, to be precise). Instead, the intention is to inspire reflection. Where would humans be without their limitations…
(If it helps you feel better, a lot of self-proclaimed newage gurus on the Internet keep repeating some form of these statements, without even knowing they’re limiting beliefs. And they’re betting a business on it! At least you’re not. You’re smarter than them by a long shot).
Without further ado:
Limiting statement #1:
“I’ll be put out of business if I resolve X issue for that person” or “They (whoever is this “they”) would be put out of business if they resolved X issue for me”.
Really? Are you sure about that? No, this is not a pep talk. Look at what I just said from another angle: did you REALLY think it would be *that* easy to escape your workload? Resolve one issue, and then that’s it, you automatically retire? Wow. Give me some of that confidence, hahaha.
Every single industry you get yourself into will present you with a seemingly infinite list of tasks to get done. Accountants finish auditing one book, only to notice that there’s another one to get done; and another company in need of auditing, and a misstatement that needs to be revisited in the first one, rinse and repeat… Oh, look, the year has gone by! Let’s start it all over again.
Teachers go through their lesson plan for this and that class, then correct tests and homework, again and again, until… There are new classes to take on and new students to meet. More work! Sweet.
Gardeners plant one thing here, another thing there, before they notice it’s pruning season already… And there are weeds to remove… and oh, look, pests galore! Oopsie, frost is coming. No, wait, we need to start seeds now. Etc.
There is no such thing as “getting it all done”, or even, having to create more work because you’re all finished now, and people will notice, and oh no, they’ll stop paying you if your service is no longer needed — so let’s keep everyone from seeing that you’re all finished. Yeah, I mean… A lot of us have that fantasy about the future. Now, tell me: has that future ever come? Have you ever, EVER, even for a day, been completely out of work? All items on the to-do list ticked off and plenty of boredom ensuing? No? Ohhhh… why am I not surprised?
Every industry has that problem. There’s always items remaining in the to-do list in every industry. Every single one of them. No exceptions.
So… Why exactly is it that when you look at the healthcare industry (including mental health care), you just assume, “oh, doctors won’t fully cure you because they want you to keep giving them your money?” (and repeat the same for psychologists, etc)? Buddy, do you REALLY think you’re THAT special to the healthcare provider you just saw? No, sorry to break it to you, but you’re not. Drop that narcissism. Pay attention here. While you were concocting conspiracy theories taken out of your arse (let’s say this took a couple of days, give or take?), the doctor you saw and/or the psychologist you consulted with has already helped dozens of other people in that same period of time. They were not depending on you alone to make a living. You don’t matter, you’re just one more face in the crowd. Okay? Have I reminded you of your place in the grand scheme of things? Good.
The above is to say: I’m sorry that you didn’t get your health issue completely sorted all in one go, but even if you were lucky enough and it did happen, the professional who sorted it would ABSOLUTELY NOT be out of business; Or out of work, for that matter. They’d be dealing with other patients, other disorders, other research, and a myriad of other small jobs that need to get done to keep the office, lab, or whatever, in good order. It never stops! It’s never fully done. That’s why people burn out at their jobs. Ever heard of burnout? Yeah, don’t forget it’s a thing.
There’s a hard-to-swallow pill which can help you abandon this limiting belief once and for all: you need to admit to yourself that you failed. You tried to find a cure for a health issue, and failed. You looked for an answer for your existential question, and failed to find it. You went on a quest to resolve an issue, and it proved to be fruitless. STOP BLAMING IT ON THE PROFESSIONALS who were there to try and help you. You failed. YOU. And you know what? Failing is okay. It’s by failing that we learn. So, stop running away from failure so much. Consider that having a second go can bring you better results. There’s no need to completely write-off an entire industry, system, or category of professional, because it frustrated you once. Drop this perfectionism. You can be stronger than this.
There is no SCARCITY of work to do. In fact it’s so ABUNDANT in the world that it can lead to burnout; it’s so abundant that people die without finishing their workload; it’s so abundant that, really, nobody cares if you have free time every once in a while. They’re already busy juggling their own work, or hiring work where they need it.
Limiting statement #2:
“Technology will replace my job”.
Oh, here we go again… How many times have human beings repeated this fearful statement! Since time immemorial. I pretty much guarantee you that if time machines existed, and someone went back all the way to Prehistory, they’d find some form of a fear of technology replacing human work — probably when fire was invented. I bet you any money that if you asked these cavemen (in cavemen language, of course) “why can’t you be excited to work WITH fire? How many new professions will become a thing BECAUSE OF fire?”, they’d brush you off and keep fearing.
People think they’re so original with their modern fears, don’t they? “Oh, only now in the 21st century are we having these threats”… Sure. That’s because we don’t talk to historians enough. Do I have any historians among my followers? Shout out to you. Keep up the good work.
“But technology replaces people. It’s a real phenomenon”, perhaps you’ll say, even pointing to research and field studies that prove it with empirical evidence. To that, I’ll say: “completely? Or just here and there?”
Note that I’m not diminishing the importance of this concern. I see where it’s coming from — greedy CEOs will be greedy. That’s real. However… Why are you giving the greedy so much power? No, seriously. Why make yourself so powerless just to prove a point? Aren’t you falling for the trap of trying to be right in detriment of being happy?
You see… When I responded to the common limiting belief with a provocative question (“completely [replaced]? Or just here and there?”), I wasn’t dismissing the existence of these isolated cases (however overhyped they may be). I was just pointing out that, for every greedy and unempathetic CEO out there, you’ll find dozens of other business owners who differ. Every single time. This, again, goes back to time immemorial. So, the question isn’t whether or not you’ll ever find work again; The question is why are you simping so much for the greedy and selfish? If they’ve showed you their true colours (by acting greedy and selfish), shouldn’t that inspire you to very gladly walk away from them and redirect your attention to a competitor? The “villains” of the world wouldn’t be so strong if we didn’t give them our audience — or business. But not giving them our audience requires disappointing the ego, because (I don’t know if you noticed) the ego looooooooooooooooooves drama.
Hence, the second hard-to-swallow pill: choose your battles. If you don’t choose your battles, you’ll end up winning a teeny tiny battle but losing the big war. Nobody wants that. And I’m not just saying it to be nice and empathetic (although that’s a benefit). I’m also saying it because objectivity eventually catches up with technological hypes — and objectivity is NEVER black-and-white. It’s ALWAYS full of shades of grey, which get pushed away by the greedy when they show you their true colours. Eventually, though, you’ll see History repeating itself: legislation regulating the use of technology comes forth; limitations of this technology which initially looked invincible will start to appear (and so will the new professions I alluded to above, aiming at compensating for these limitations with human genius. And you could be one of these geniuses IF ONLY you weren’t too busy giving all your power away to a limiting belief), etc. Okay? I’m not anti-outrage, in fact it’s often needed. But sometimes, outrage isn’t productive. Namely, when it’s based on a limiting belief, and not a real justice case.
There is no SCARCITY of opportunity. In reality, there’s an ABUNDANCE of opportunity, especially where the potential is still untapped. But to see untapped potential, you need to let go of tired narratives. Out with the old, in with the new, isn’t it?
Limiting statement #3:
“Plastic will kill the planet. GMOs will kill the planet. Chemicals will kill the planet. [Insert man-made thing here] will kill the planet”.
Excuuuuuuuuse me, god almighty, but I have an objection to make.
Yes, you. God almighty. I’m calling you god.
What? Are you surprised? You shouldn’t be. I’m holding a mirror to the hubris you refuse to notice in yourself. You think you’re a deity, well, I’m showing you that. Get out of denial and you’ll see the problem too.
I mean… WHO ELSE, if not someone who overinflates their self-importance, would ever even consider thinking that they can outsmart nature? Become higher and mightier than creation itself?
If you’re really smart, you might have noticed that each section of this article picks up on the previous one. Here, we’re picking up on the idea that the creature never surpasses its creator. Not even if that’s the INTENTION.
And by the way, I’m not in the mood for theological debates. Spare me from that. When I say “creation”, I’m not giving atheists my middle finger, because really, this specific limiting belief here can be addressed by people of all faiths (or lack of it). I’m simply saying that humans were created by nature. Whether or not you give nature a name and a fun mythical story, you can agree.
You see… Plastics used to be “impossible” to decompose fast, but now, look at this fun little development — not by humans; by nature.
GMO was not a human invention either, much as you guys enjoy taking credit for it. Genetic mutations sometimes cause you discomfort, other times cause you to feel a little cool, but they have existed for a long time. You harnessed the procedure.
All of these inventions you’re scared by are made of what? That’s right: materials that already existed before you even considered being born. They do indeed have a harmful side (and a beneficial side too). They ain’t all roses. But harm and good balance out in the end. That’s talking big picture, though. You’re small. So, if I may — the planet lives on. On the other hand, YOU suffer the consequences of your small choices.
Here is the third hard-to-swallow pill that shall free you: there are levels to hubris. This is more on the inoffensive side where divinity is concerned, but it might still be harmful to yourselves — mere humans — in the long run, so take note. Know at which level you operate. You do not have control over the big picture. You do the small work. This desire to fool yourself into believing you’re actually doing the “big work” is because self-destructive tendencies bring you shame. It’s cooler to think you’re destroying a planet instead of destroying yourself. But cooler or not, it’s a lie. Don’t go believing your own lies, that’s a dangerous slippery slope.
There’s no SCARCITY of nature anywhere. Nature is all there is.
Next.
