My grandmother raised her family through World War I, World War II, and the Japanese occupation of Taiwan. Naturally, living through conflict, famine, and oppression leads to a very scarce mindset. Ever stretched on money and food, my mom has inherited this mentality when raising her family.
Through my childhood and even into my mid 30’s, I kept this scarcity mindset.
What are characteristics of a scarcity mindset?
- Life is a finite pie – when you give, you lose. Logically that would mean, the more you give, the more you lose. Naturally this encourages you to horde, be selfish, and close yourself inward.
- A negative relationship with money. Building on the finite world view, the usual thoughts about money is that the rich are greedy. The rich accrued their wealth by taking from the less fortunate. It’s bad to be rich.
These two devastating aspects of my scarcity mindset kept me closed off, poor, and not daring to dream.
When I decided to set myself on a path of personal development, I was exposed to the opportunities of the world. And the only thing holding me back, has been myself. It took a long time to change my mindset. It’s an on going process.