In reading about minimalism, the last advice I expected to encounter was advice on creating abundance. After all, minimalism is about getting rid of the excess stuff and paring down to what you truly use, need and love. But it turns out, that if you have a scarcity mindset, you are likely to keep an excess of things just in case you might need them one day. If you hang onto an item because you are worried that you might need it someday, that suggests you believe that you may not have the ability or means to acquire it should you really need it in the future—revealing your scarcity mindset. Ah ha!
By cultivating an attitude of abundance, you trust that you can easily attract or acquire what you’ll need in the future. So, it is safe to let this thing go now so someone else can use and benefit from it. This is exactly what happened with our juicer, which we hadn’t used in ages. We donated to charity. Years later, guess what? I need a juicer. I could kick myself for having let the juicer go all those years ago or I could trust in the abundance of the universe and my ability to acquire a new juicer.
Having worked with the laws of attraction for years, I now know that I can easily manifest or attract any of the stuff I need in life. This week my husband and I saw a top-quality juicer for sale in a charity shop window. [ I always prefer shopping in charity shops for a number of reasons: 1) it’s usually cheaper than buying new; 2) it’s better for the environment; and 3) you get to support a charity doing something good in the world. A great deal on so many fronts.] I’ve just started a healthy food challenge for the new year. So, a juicer may come in handy because I’m adding in a super green smoothie for breakfast every morning as an expedient way to get more fruits and veggies into my diet.
Now I’ve proven to myself that, yes, I can let stuff go. And if I need it later, I can attract it. No problem. And, even if I didn’t spot that juicer, we have the means to buy a new one.
How do you learn to feel more abundant and banish that scarcity thinking?
The easiest way is to start by realizing how much you already have. When it feels like you don’t have enough, focus on what you do have. One of the principles of life coaching is that you maintain what you have before you expand. Instead of buying new clothes, mend or alter some of the clothes you already own.
Make a list of everything you are grateful for in life.
You can list anything that comes to mind – your health, wonderful friends, a warm place to live, a comfortable bed, loving family, and so on. Focusing on what you have and being grateful for that is a simple trick to activate the law of attraction. Gratitude is a very attractive quality. If you haven’t taken the time to make your wish list for the new year, then now is the perfect time to do so regardless of whether it is January or July.
Compare Carefully.
Comparison can make you feel inadequate if you compare yourself to someone who has more than you. It can also make you feel incredibly rich and abundant, if you compare yourself to someone who has less. Volunteer to help in a soup kitchen or shelter for the homeless twice a month to remind yourself how lucky you are!
Another trick is to give. When you give, your mentality shifts from scarcity to abundance. Obviously, if you can give something away, you have more than enough and can easily afford to be generous. I find it is easier to part with things if I know they will be going to someone who wants them. Instead of gathering dust in a cupboard, I imagine my juicer was providing health benefits for someone else all these years. And since we donated to Oxfam, that juicer might have provided a chicken or goat for someone in Africa. And that goat might have had babies and now there may be a mini goat farm in Africa thanks to this juicer. I like to spin out the story so that I’m motivated to scout around the house and see what else can be drafted into service and do some good work in the world.
In the journey from maximalist to minimalist, an abundance mentality certainly makes it easier!
