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Enough already! Confront your fear of
scarcity
Desire fuels passion and makes life worth
living. But desire unchecked can be exhausting
and all-consuming. Once one desire is appeased,
another one quickly takes its place and soon you
are spending all of your energy working to
satiate every whim until you collapse like a
hamster that’s just run a mile long wheel
marathon.
Obviously, much of what we desire is hardwired.
If we didn’t desire food, we would starve to
death. If we didn’t desire clothes, we would
freeze. If we didn’t desire sex, the population
would have died off eons ago.
But what propels people, when full to keep
eating, or when warm to keep buying clothes, or
when married, to seek more partners. How much of
desire is hardwired and how much of it cultural
i.e. encouraged by advertisements preying on our
deepest, darkest emotions and insecurities?
Why do humans—American in particular, stuff
themselves with stuff?
It is a fear of scarcity that propels us to
desire more than “enough.” We are afraid of
running out of stuff. We fear there aren’t
enough jobs clothes, cars and success to go
around. Instead we hoard and store everything we
can including; money, homes, pets and coffee
makers. If you can name it, somebody out there
hoards it.
All I have to do is watch my dog to know that
the fear of scarcity is innate. If I give her
twice the amount of food she can eat, she will
still growl at the cat if he comes near the
leftovers.
It’s natural and okay to want, but we can get
ridiculous about it at times. We may already
have a perfectly good reliable car, but that
doesn’t stop us from wanting the newest on the
market. We may not be able to stuff anymore
jeans into our closet, but that doesn’t stop us
from buying another pair. Thankfully humans are
gifted with awareness. We are not slaves to
every desire or emotion that we have. It’s
important to recognize the desire or emotion but
not necessarily act on it.
Confronting your Fear of Scarcity:
1. Before making a purchase ask yourself, “Would
I buy this if nobody else was impressed by it?”
If the answer is no, you may want to put down
the I-phone and keep moving.
2. Consider whether your purchase will add
stress to your life. Being free and happy is
more important than material things. Is that new
car worth the 5 years of car payments? Is that
McMansion worth the 30 year adjustable rate
mortgage? Sure, I want a new camera, but I can’t
afford it, and buying it on credit will only add
more stress to my life—another bill to miss on a
monthly basis. Peace of mind should fuel your
purchasing decisions not jealousy over another’s
possessions.
3. Give. I’ve often read that when you feel as
if you can’t afford to give—do it anyway. And
selfishly, I’ve always wondered, why should I?
What’s in it for me? But now I realize that the
very act of giving when you feel as if you can’t
afford to, is confronting one of the biggest
fears humans have—the fear of scarcity. And
confronting fears is one excellent way to
happiness and peace of mind. So give. Give your
time, give your money, give your clothes.
4. Learn to love what you have. Clear away the
Clutter.Take a good look at your stuff (one
closet at a time). I recently opened my
overflowing clothes closet and separated what I
LOVED from what was just taking up space.
Clearing out the clutter allowed me to see new
possibilities in what I had. Now whenever, I
pick out my clothes for the next day, it’s
always a favorite outfit. And when I do purchase
something new—I know I don’t already own one,
and I know where it fits into my wardrobe.
5. One in-one out.Every time you make a purchase
get rid of something. New jeans? Get rid of
those size 4 jeans you haven’t been able to fit
into for 10 years.
Read more on the fear of scarcity from
Bankrate.com. |
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