Why a Sufficiency Mindset is What You Need

Forget Abundance. Live in Sufficiency.

“Abundance” is probably the first word you see in the dictionary of personal growth & self-development.

Having an abundance mindset is often regarded as the first step towards change and growth. You believe there are plenty of opportunities and endless possibilities. Instead of coming from lack and scarcity, you come from excess and abundance.

All sounds great, right? But here’s the thing: I have seen way too many people creating “abundance” as an over-compensation of lack. Their abundance is still driven by fear and scarcity.

It’s not just limited to materials. So many high achievers take pride in their achievements while suffering from anxiety and depression for the same reason: They create “false abundance” to compensate for the lack.

A lack of self-esteem. A lack of fulfillment. A lack of purpose.

So, if you’re not in true abundance yet, don’t rush to get there. Start adopting a sufficiency mindset with these 3 principles:

Knowing You Are Enough

You don’t have to be more, do more, buy more, or have more. You are not perfect, but you’re enough. You are a finished, polished, yet a constantly evolving product.

You don’t need to achieve anything to prove you’re enough. Your self-worth and self-esteem are not built upon your achievement. You are exactly where you need to be.

If you don’t already believe it before you get there, you still won’t once you do.

Once you know and believe you’re enough, you won’t waste time and energy “figuring out” how to “make yourself better”. Instead, you will focus on improving your skillset, enriching your mind, and making a difference.

You will not make “it” about you — whatever “it” is.

You alone are enough. You have nothing to prove to anybody. — Maya Angelou

Less Matter, More Energy

Last summer I read Dr. Joe Dispenza’s “Becoming Supernatural: How Common People Are Doing the Uncommon”. If I could only take away one sentence, that would be the title of this section: Less matter, more energy.

Where you put your attention is where you put your energy. The more things you own, the more you consume, the more energy you will spend on external things, and the less energy you will have for becoming your higher self.

“So if you want to change a belief or perception, you have to first change your state of being. And changing your state of being means changing your energy, because in order for you to affect matter, you have to become more energy and less matter, more wave and less particle. That requires you to combine a clear intention and an elevated emotion — those are the two ingredients.” — Joe Dispenza, You Are the Placebo: Making Your Mind Matter

“The things you own end up owning you. It’s only after you lose everything that you’re free to do anything.”

― Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club

Living in sufficiency requires you to cut out the unnecessary, take off the weight, and focus on where you want to go.

From “Need” to “Want”

If you’re familiar with the four quadrants of time management, you will know that most “needs” belong to the 3rd quadrant (urgent but not important), while most “wants” belong to the 2nd quadrant (important but not urgent).

If you keep doing urgent things, you can hardly get the important ones done. What’s worse, it gives you a false sense of productivity and makes you feel you have accomplished a lot.

Getting needs met is easy. And our brains are hardwired to do what’s easiest for survival. You gotta watch out for this trap by doing the right thing.

“Always do the right thing. Even when the right thing is the hard thing.” — Bryan Stevenson.

Living in sufficiency asks you to minimize our needs, so you have more room for wants. This is also a recipe for reducing your stress level, so you know where your stressors come from.

You don’t need to pick up your children — you can hire a nanny. You do it because you want to.

You don’t need dessert — you’ve had enough calorie intake. You eat the cheesecake because you want to.

You don’t need to write on Medium — nobody forces you to. You keep writing because you want to.

As you shift your “needs” to “wants”, you will feel much more relaxed and much less resistant. You will know you have agency and will take responsibility. Then you will become truly empowered.

“Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get.” — Dale Carnegie

Abundance might be hard to achieve when you’re just starting. But sufficiency is within your reach. When you have a sufficiency mindset, you establish an inner certainty that no one can take away. Then you are on your way to success.

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