Shifting from Lack to Abundance
How to Build an Abundant Mindset: 10 Strategies to Overcome Scarcity
I'm Manuel Saez, I write to help founders master emotional intelligence to make decisions with clarity and confidence 🌻 EQ coach, 2X-founder & award-winning designer ➜ I love fixing old motorcycles 🛵 🏍
Reading time: 6 min.
Contents:
1. Think About Good Things Throughout the Day:
2. Write and Share What you are grateful for
3. Keep a Gratitude Journal
4. Express Gratitude to Others
5. Challenge Limiting Beliefs
6. Use Positive Affirmations
7. Focus on Solutions, Not Problems
8. Create a Vision Board
9. Set Daily Intentions
10. Visualization Exercises
In my life, I've experienced periods of good fortune and stretches of what felt like bad luck.
Looking back, I realize those "bad luck" times were often linked to the wrong mindset.
When I allowed negative thoughts to dominate, it clouded my perspective and kept me stuck.
Recently, I revisited a journal entry I wrote during one of those challenging times:
If you complain about money.
If you judge people who have it.
If you rush when you are lacking something,
If you take shortcuts when you don't have what you want.Think about it. An abundant person doesn’t do that...
If your thoughts are more about what you don't have.
If you're angry with the world.
If you think life has been unfair to you.You need to change.
It should be about the change/becoming rather than about what you're lacking.
Watch your thoughts and actions and steer them to the emotions of gratitude, contentment, satisfaction, possibilities, wholeness…
How does an abundant person think?
What are their dominant thoughts?
How does an abundant person act?
What's their attitude towards life?You have to believe in a beautiful future.
The energy of that future needs to be more powerful than the trauma from the past.
Journaling and being mindful of my thoughts and feelings helped me shift back to a positive mindset and reminded me of the power of our thoughts.
Today, I want to share ten practical strategies that helped me reframe my mindset:
1. Think About Good Things Throughout the Day
Start by building a habit of pausing throughout your day to acknowledge the positive aspects of your life.
These could be small moments like enjoying your morning coffee, a kind gesture from a friend, or a peaceful walk in the park.
By mentally saying "thank you" for these moments, you train your mind to focus on abundance rather than scarcity, gradually shifting your mindset.
2. Write and Share What you are grateful for
At the end of each day, I write down what I’m grateful for and share it on X (formerly Twitter). This practice creates a consistent routine and helps solidify the habit of gratitude.
Sharing publicly adds accountability; knowing others might see your reflections encourages you to stick with the practice. This habit reinforces your gratitude and inspires others, creating a ripple effect of positivity –Everyone wins.
3. Keep a Gratitude Journal
In addition to your social media posts, consider keeping a private gratitude journal.
Each night, write down three things you're grateful for if you can go deeper and write about your feelings.
This practice helps you internalize these positive reflections, and over time, it becomes a powerful tool for reflecting on them, especially during challenging times.
You'll see the progression of your mindset from one focused on lack to one rooted in abundance.
4. Express Gratitude to Others
Make a conscious effort to express your gratitude verbally to those around you.
Whether you thank a colleague for their support or let a family member know how much you appreciate them, expressing gratitude strengthens your relationships and solidifies your abundant mindset.
It's a simple but profound way to nurture positivity in your life and those you interact with.
5. Challenge Limiting Beliefs
Our biggest obstacles are often our beliefs about ourselves. When you catch yourself thinking, "I can't do this," challenge that thought.
Ask yourself, "What if I can?" or "How might this challenge be an opportunity for growth?"
By questioning these limiting beliefs, you begin to dismantle the barriers that keep you in a scarcity mindset and open yourself up to new possibilities.
6. Use Positive Affirmations
Create a list of affirmations that you “believe” and align with an abundant mindset, such as "I am deserving of success" or "Opportunities are everywhere."
Repeating these affirmations daily helps replace negative, scarcity-focused thoughts with positive, growth-oriented ones.
Over time, these affirmations become internalized, leading to a natural shift in how you view yourself and the world around you.
7. Focus on Solutions, Not Problems
When faced with a challenge, it is easy to get stuck on what's wrong. Once you recognize this, try shifting your focus to finding solutions.
Ask yourself, "What can I do to improve this situation?"
This simple reframing turns a scarcity-focused mindset into one of possibility and action, empowering you to move forward rather than remain stuck in the problem.
8. Create a Vision Board
Vision boards are powerful tools for manifesting the life you want. Gather images, quotes, and symbols that represent your goals and dreams.
Place your vision board somewhere you'll see it daily, and spend a few moments each day visualizing yourself achieving these goals.
This practice keeps your aspirations at the forefront of your mind, guiding your actions and decisions toward creating the abundant life you envision.
9. Set Daily Intentions
Each morning, set a clear intention for the day. It could be something like, "Today, I will focus on opportunities," or "I will approach every challenge with a positive attitude."
Setting these intentions primes your mind to seek out and attract what you have in mind, helping you stay aligned with your goals throughout the day.
10. Visualization Exercises
Spend 5-10 minutes each day visualizing yourself and being happy.
What is that life? How do you feel? Imagine the details—the sights, sounds, and feelings associated with your success.
The goal is to bring those feelings of your future self to this present moment.
This mental rehearsal aligns your actions with your intentions and reinforces an abundant mindset, helping you stay motivated and focused on your path to success.
Life isn't all flowers and rainbows, and that's okay. Falling off the positive vibe wagon is normal and essential to the human experience.
Our ups and downs provide valuable perspective, helping us appreciate the highs and learn from the lows.
It's important to accept life as it is, with all its unpredictability and challenges. But acceptance doesn't mean passivity.
It's about understanding and acknowledging where you are at any moment while recognizing that you can take action and shape your future.
Remember, it's not about staying positive all the time—no one can do that. Instead, it's about knowing that even when you fall, you have the tools and the mindset to get back up, recalibrate, and keep moving forward.
Thanks for reading. Please bookmark this article and share it with friends who may benefit.
Sending you good vibes 🌻
Manuel Saez