I was at the grocery store over the weekend and realized that I have shifted my mindset about how we buy food. I always used to worry about whether we had enough of something, or wanted to have something on hand, *just in case*. Never mind that I could get myself to the store in 15 minutes to get whatever I might need, it felt better to know it was in the house.
But about 4 or 5 months ago, we started really focusing on using what we have and slimming down what was in the pantry, being mindful about what we bought and even trying new recipes to use what we had on hand. We had shifted from a scarcity mindset to one of abundance.
Now, you might be asking yourself what this has to do with leadership and mindset, but stick with me and you will see the connection! When we have a mindset of scarcity, we see limits and we look at things from a finite perspective. We only see so many options or opportunities and feel like if we don't grab them while we see them that we may miss our opportunity.
On the other hand, when we have an abundance mindset, we see things from an infinite perspective, knowing that there is always the opportunity to create more, or find new options, if we have the mindset that it is possible. We learn that if one opportunity does not happen, there are many more opportunities to consider in its place.
That's what happened with our food buying - we stopped seeing things from a scarcity mindset, and shifted our thinking to an abundance mindset. We opened up more possibilities and options by stopping the mass stock of our pantry and fridge and we allowed ourselves to see how much we already had, when we stopped having so much.
It sounds counterintuitive when you first start practicing shifting your mindset, but learning to see the abundance around you begins to shift your thoughts from "I need more" to "what do I need". And, in our careers, where we have been trained to always look for what's next, learning to let go of that mindset can be challenging. If we don't go for that next job, there may not be another opportunity - how many times have you heard that or thought it yourself?
But what if there were more job opportunities than we needed? What if the opportunities were not limited, but limitless? And, what if we were able to discover what we really wanted and needed by changing our mindset?
And, if you are like me, the next time you go to the grocery store, you may just find yourself buying less because it actually creates space for more!
If you are ready to start shifting your mindset, our free Mindset Matters worksheet is a great first step. You can download it here: