Abundance mentality vs Scarcity mentality - Poll

[bylto]

In talking to people about building wealth I invariably come across those that believe in scarcity. They will state something like, 'wealth is finite and in order to get it, you have to first take it from somebody else.' To me this is dated and inaccurate. However, I would like to know how the members here feel about the issue and what belief is dominant.

[RT Wolf]

I'm fairly firmly in the abundance mentality in terms of wealth. However, I'm finding that the abundance mentality is applicable to more than just wealth. It's applicable to the choices you feel you have in a particular situation, to the solutions available for a particular problem, the possibilities you have for the future, etc.

[ahimel]

I believe there is an infinite supply of wealth. Not necessarily money (of which there is a limited number of bills) but the net wealth in the world is clearly not fixed, since the poorest person in the US has a better standard of living than most European nobles in the 17th century.

However, I voted, "up to the individual, neither good nor bad" because the question asked about the seeking of wealth. While I believe there is nothing wrong with seeking wealth, I believe that like all activities you pursue, it should be meaningful to your growth. If seeking wealth would get in the way of your life's purpose by taking away time, then it's bad... and that's a matter of individual life preferences.

However, I think you'll still see a lot of comments that don't match with the abundance mentality. There are levels of mentality, ranging from "I intellectually agree that Amanda's point about 17th-century standards of living proves that wealth is not fixed, but I can't wrap my mind and heart around it" to "What do you mean a fixed amount? I don't understand what you're saying." I'm working on developing abundance mentality, and am getting pretty good, but I still catch myself making zero-sum arguments every once in a while.

[Jill]

Originally Posted by RT Wolf

I'm fairly firmly in the abundance mentality in terms of wealth. However, I'm finding that the abundance mentality is applicable to more than just wealth. It's applicable to the choices you feel you have in a particular situation, to the solutions available for a particular problem, the possibilities you have for the future, etc.

Yep, agree 100%. The abundance mentality is applicable to everything in life.

Have you ever noticed that the most unhappy people are those that when something good happens to someone, instead of being genuinely happy for them, they are "jealous" and/or have this inner feeling that it means less happiness for them. They even do this with their own friends!

[bylto]

Have you ever noticed that the most unhappy people are those that when something good happens to someone, instead of being genuinely happy for them, they are "jealous" and/or have this inner feeling that it means less happiness for them

I have experienced that recently myself when I got promoted up 2 places at work. As if there is only so much happiness to go around They used to like me which makes it worse, oh well, what they think of me is none of my business