One of the hardest things to do—especially when faced with seemingly insurmountable challenges—is to frame your thinking around abundance rather than scarcity. It is common to feel as though you’re working with limited or no resources when you’re at the bottom, looking up. The reverse is also true: when you’re at the top looking down, it’s easy to contemplate the many resources at your disposal.
So, this bit of advice is for those of us who are, or who have been, struggling. When you’re on the ground and getting kicked, it’s hard to think about the bounty all around you. However—it is there. Believe me, it is. The only thing separating you from an abundance of resources is your own thinking. That is the barrier. Understanding this concept is foundational to those who are capable of thinking big.
This is not easy, especially when even a glimmer of optimism is difficult to summon. Yet, it is vital to stretch your current viewpoint. Most likely, you have developed a view of the world heavily influenced by your present circumstances. It’s easy to get fooled into believing the status quo has more power than it really does.
When planning to grow your company, for example, you might set a target of 5% growth. That seems reasonable, achievable. You’ve grown by 2–3% each year recently, so 5% feels like pushing the limit. You have a million reasons in your mind why this will be difficult. You contemplate all your current limitations, all the resources you don’t have. This is the curse of the resident leader: being swayed into thinking within the confines of your predicament.
Thinking from a place of abundance requires a completely different perspective. The question isn’t, How can I possibly use these limited resources to go from 3% to 5% growth? Rather, it is, How can I access the abundance around me to scale 10x this year? If I were to grow the business tenfold, what would I need to make that happen?
This is what people mean when they say you need to think bigger. It’s not about coming up with a wild idea, but rather about considering how to marshal the resources required to exponentially improve your situation.
Take the job seeker, for instance. It’s easy to slip into scarcity thinking when searching for work. You face rejections, missed opportunities. You begin to believe that there’s nothing out there, or that no one is hiring someone like you. You create a mental image of scarcity: thousands competing for just a handful of jobs. This is not true—yet we convince ourselves it is.
Instead, flip the mindset. Say to yourself: There are thousands of opportunities out there that fit my skill set. What would I need to do to get in front of 100 of those opportunities this week? What resources could I use? How would I execute that? If I wasn’t afraid to reach out to hundreds of people, what possibilities would become available?
Personally, I like to use a whiteboard in my office when I need to think big. When I feel stuck or confined by a problem, I take a long walk to shift my thinking. Then I return and sketch the issue on a whiteboard. Sometimes I’ll use a tool like Miro, but most often, I rely on the physical board. This process allows me to recognize how narrow my initial thinking was. Often, I’ll realize that I’ve missed obvious resources—or misunderstood the problem entirely. By visualizing and dreaming, I can develop a more accurate and inspired view of the challenge. Pictures help. They convey meaning in a way words sometimes can’t.
When you’re stuck in scarcity, it’s easy to obsess over what’s directly in front of you. That “my office is a mess, therefore my life is a mess” type of tunnel vision. When I catch myself doing this, I try to ask bigger, more long-term questions: Will this issue matter in 10 years? What will matter in 10 years? These questions can instantly shift the perspective of the myopic thinker.
You might also consider minimizing the perceived gravity of the issue. Ask: What real impact is this having on my life, my work, my family, my community? Or imagine asking a stranger on the street for their opinion—what would they say? This is one of the benefits of being married to someone who thinks differently. When you’re trapped in a mindset, discussing it with a spouse or close friend can shine a light on the absurdity of your fear. It’s like the scary monster in the closet that turns out to be just a coat hanging on the door once the light comes on.
Getting opinions, hearing how others see the situation—that’s a great way to check if you’ve fallen into scarcity thinking.
At the end of it all, the world—and our society—needs big thinkers. Don’t let your potentially remarkable soul be dimmed by a discouraging view of the world as depleted or scarce. Instead, choose to believe that the world is overflowing with opportunity and abundance, simply waiting for someone like you to step forward and ask the right questions. It’s not always easy, especially when life hits hard. But you owe it to yourself—and to everyone around you—to think bigger, and to adopt the mindset of abundance.
