Abundance vs Scarcity

by Loren Gelberg-Goff -

Creating A Healthy Relationship with Money:

What is your relationship with money? How do you feel about your financial situation? Are you feeling stressed and overwhelmed whenever the subject of money comes up? Do you cringe every time you have to pay a bill?

Stressful times continue and we continue to be bombarded with messages of gloom and doom. People continue to feel disconnected and isolated and are so busy that they have little time for truly connecting to or even noticing the abundance and prosperity in their lives. However, abundance is exactly what we need to focus on. 

How do you define abundance? 

The dictionary defines abundance as “ample supply; plenty; amount more than enough”. It is a definition that is based not just upon how much money you have in the bank, but by the “abundance of joy, health, love, friends, hobbies, etc. 

How do you evaluate and measure abundance in your life? 

Take a moment to think about it and focus on what is abundant in your life.

I know that it’s hard to connect to a feeling of abundance when you’re struggling to pay your bills, you’re not in great health, you feel lonely or you feel unsure of how to handle life stresses in general. I know and understand what it’s like to feel emotionally and/or financially choked every day and wonder how you’ll make ends meet or even just make it through the day. 

Although attitude does not concretely pay the bills or combat emotional stress, attitude is exactly what we need to look at when the negative messages of insufficiency, inadequacy, scarcity, fear and even, sometimes, panic overtake you and threaten to take over your life. 

As much as we live in a world that sets up comparisons and competition to “keep up with” or surpass the “Joneses”, it is imperative that you look at the other dimensions that make up your life. 

We are multi-dimensional individuals and as such, we need to acknowledge all the parts of our lives that make us who we are. That includes, family, friends, health, responsibilities, hobbies, spirituality and whatever else sustains us when the chips are down. 

We need to acknowledge where the obstacles to healthy energy exist in our lives, including our beliefs and conceptions about money, status, material goods, time, love, etc. 

Have you ever wondered about what abundance really means to you and whether or not you believe you really deserve abundance in your life? 

Do you think that life is a struggle, and that only “other people” get or deserve to be wealthy or have it “easy” and comfortable? Do you believe that only “other people” get or deserve to have lives that are abundant; and that somehow you just have to struggle for every ounce of success you might fleetingly achieve?

Belief Systems

What’s really at work here are your belief systems and they play an important part in whether you live with a feeling of scarcity/never having enough or abundance/having more than enough. 

We can have times of financial stress and strain, times of physical/medical challenges, even times when nothing seems to be going right and it’s how we handle these times that makes all the difference! 

When hard times hit, our egos send out messages of fear that cause internal reactions. We either shut down, panic, become overwhelmed, burnt out, depressed, and/or stuck; in other words, we feel and then become victims of our own thoughts and feelings.

STOP! BREATHE! FOCUS! 

These are NOT the only possible responses to stressful situations!!! 

These are habits, patterns, old behaviors kicking in yet again, and they do not require any effort at all to suck us into the morass of pressure, worry and tension that they bring with them. Feeling abundance is not just about having enough good health, money, time or love. 

To really embrace the feelings of abundance in your life, you have to be willing to look honestly at your situation and evaluate what your part has been in your getting there. It means stepping out of the “passive”, automatic “victim”, role and looking for where your power and control lie. 

It’s easy to blame, point your finger, feel helpless and/or powerless when hard times hit, and then wait, hope and pray for someone or something to rescue you from that painful situation. As most people ultimately realize, these methods don’t work; all they accomplish is that they just keep you perpetuating the same challenging situations in your life. 

The key to abundance is that you be willing to see where your power lies and whether or  not you’re willing to do something to change the patterns that have evolved in your life so that you can go forward differently.

What has your part been in keeping the negative cycle repeating itself in your life? 

• Have you been in denial? 
• Have you been blaming someone else for your circumstances? 
• Have you felt burdened by life and not known what to do to change anything? 
• Have you been afraid? 

Today is the day YOU can decide to live differently. 

No, it won’t make your problems disappear today or stop the bill collectors from calling or instantly bring you good health or wonderful friends. 

What your decision will do is help start you on a path to clarity and help you focus on your abilities so that you can formulate a new plan to help you go forward. 

Maybe you need to ask for help; there is nothing wrong in doing that! Maybe you need to seek out training for a new job or reevaluate your relationships or change how you communicate with the people in your life. 

The point is, you will feel energized as you begin to take back your power and create a new path, with new possibilities.

Abundance, in my perspective is about empowerment and the knowledge that you have free will and therefore the ability to CHANGE what you don’t like in your life. 

Now, you may not be able to change a situation that has been with you for a long time but you CAN CHANGE how you view it and how you handle it going forward. 

As Albert Einstein said, 

“the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result”. He also said “the thinking that got you into a problem is not the same thinking that will get you out of it.” 

It’s time to do something different! 

Take that slow deep breath and focus on YOUR DESIRED OUTCOME. What is your desired outcome in the situation that most disturbs you in your life? 

If you don’t have an outcome that is clear, then it’s time to sit with the negative situation and ask yourself: “in this situation what would abundance look like and what can I do to achieve it?”

Achieving Abundance Steps

1. List HONESTLY the areas of your life in which you feel scarcity and lack (ie: career, fun, personal growth, relationships, health, money, etc) 

Are these areas lacking because you have neglected them, felt unsure how to improve them, believed that nothing could be done to change them, felt overwhelmed, etc.  

This step is so that you can become conscious and aware of what works and doesn’t work for you and make an active choice to change that which you can, openly accept that which cannot be changed and let go of unnecessary burdens that keep you stuck. 

2. List the areas of your life in which you feel a sense of abundance, fulfillment and/or success (pay special attention to what role you played in creating that fulfillment, abundance and success) Much of a feeling of abundance comes from and grows out of our feelings of being empowered, so OWN your successes! 

3. List what your hopes and dreams are for the areas that are lacking in your life and why you believe you don‘t have those hopes realized. (ie: waiting for someone else to get it for you, afraid to ask for what you want, feeling overwhelmed and burdened with just too much to do, unsure of what to do or how to do it, etc.  

These are feelings of being a victim and lead us into feelings of scarcity and lack…) Do NOT judge or criticize in this step, just be open to learning! 

4. Pick the number one issue for you; the issue that you most want to change in your life, and focus on Your Desired Outcome for that issue. (Remember that a desired outcome has to be something over which you have control—no passivity allowed)  

How committed are you to actively achieving that which you desire? 

5. Write down the step(s) you need to take to achieve your desired outcome. 

Maybe it’s enrolling in a class, scheduling an appointment, communicating more clearly, asking someone for help or guidance, reaching out for support, looking for another job, doing something that is outside of your comfort zone, etc.  

Whatever the steps, write them down, (no matter how hard, scary, overwhelming or impossible they feel) and choose one step to take this week, to move you out of scarcity and onto the path of abundance.  

As the old saying goes:  

"A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step." 

Are you willing to take yours? 

6. Set up a realistic schedule for yourself to take each of the rest of the steps necessary to achieve your desired outcome and stick with it!  

With each step you take, you will feel an increase in your internal energies, more self empowerment, and an opening up to the abundance in your life. If you are unclear as to what each step needs to be, are you willing to explore what they might be?  

Are you willing to ask for and seek out help, support and guidance? You don’t have to do everything alone! Ask a friend, a mentor, or even schedule a phone consultation with me. You have options; use them!

Changes aren’t easy but neither is staying stuck and feeling choked emotionally, physically, spiritually or financially.

Are you ready to move forward on your path of “Being Well Within” by doing the work to find and create abundance in your life? I truly hope that this message helps to get you started on your journey!

beingwellwithin.com