Living a Life of Abundance
DO YOU EVER EXPERIENCE THE INNER CONFLICT BETWEEN EMBRACING LIMITLESS POSSIBILITIES AND FIXATING ON FEARS OR LIMITATIONS?
It’s a common struggle.
An abundance mindset involves an optimistic view of life, wealth, and opportunities. It is the belief that the world holds enough resources and time for you to accomplish your goals.
In contrast, a scarcity mindset is a fixation on the limitations that hinder personal growth and lead to fear, anxiety, and degraded potential.
The risk of holding a scarcity mindset is significant, causing people to avoid taking risks, straining relationships, and forming a self-fulfilling cycle of negativity (Covey, 2020).
Managing the tension between an abundance vs. scarcity mindset is a universal challenge.
If you've ever felt fear, stress, or anxiety and wondered if you have what it takes to survive (let alone thrive), you're not alone. However, there is a path toward a life of abundance that many have walked, and I'd like to highlight a few concepts from existential psychology that can help us all live more abundant and fulfilling lives.
Viktor E Frankl is famous for surviving the Holocaust, pioneering logotherapy (based on the premise that people's primary motivating force is the search for meaning in life), and advancing the field of existential psychology.
He is the author of Man's Search for Meaning, in which he shares his harrowing experiences enduring Nazi concentration camps in the second world war.
His insights about life fulfillment emphasize the pursuit of meaning and purpose as the fundamental goal—rather than the pursuit of pleasure, power, or outcomes.
Does pursuing meaning and purpose above all else resonate with you?
In our ever-evolving world, there's always been a lot of attention given to success—often portrayed as materialistic achievements. However, if we are to follow Victor E Frankl's rationale, we must not aim at success.
The more we aim at it, the more we will miss it.
According to Frankl, "Success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue." Success becomes the unintended side effect of our dedication to a cause bigger than ourselves. In the long run—with emphasis on the long run—success will follow you precisely because you forgot to think about it.
Releasing a focus on success and fixating on purpose is the way to a sustainable and abundant life.
So, how does existential theory relate to living an abundant life?
Victor E Frankl's conclusions about meaning and fulfillment almost entirely align with Covey's abundance mindset.
One of the fundamental concepts of the abundance mindset involves encouraging people to focus on their life's core values and purpose as a way to attract success and abundance.
If you’re reading this and feel like you fall to the scarcity side of this mindset continuum, fear not! You can shift to abundance and achieve a stronger sense of self and meaning in life by using a few valuable tools to help you achieve your goals.
I want to share with you the following three prompts that have been helping me find meaning and abundance:
Emphasize your values and purpose. Victor E Frankl believed that you could find meaning by identifying and living in alignment with your values and goals. Aim at your values first, then realize your goals—success ensues a purposeful intent.
Recognize the importance of friction. You don’t become more resilient without doing hard things, and you can endure adversity and suffering by maintaining your sense of meaning. What are you working towards, and how can you turn your obstacles into opportunities?
Appreciate the process. Finding meaning through personal progress aligns with the idea that an abundant life involves continuous personal growth. Investing in yourself will lead to a more meaningful life.
And, of course, practice gratitude along the way.
Speaking from experience, regularly acknowledging the things, relationships, and opportunities you have in your life leads you to focus on the positives, reinforcing the belief that you have more than you realize.
Life is abundant, and it will continue to become all you hoped for and more.
Stay focused on your "why" while striving for your goals.
Your abundance lives in the surrender to a purpose bigger than oneself!
Thanks for reading and being part of my community!
If you want to bring this perspective and vital conversation to your community or organization, reach out to me to here. And don’t forget to grab a copy of my book, Never Part of the Plan on Amazon.
References:
Covey, S. R. (2020). The 7 habits of highly effective people: Powerful lessons in personal change (Revised and updated. Simon&Schuster edition). Simon & Schuster.
Frankl, V. E. (2017). Man’s search for meaning: A young adult edition. Beacon Press books.
