Experts Say This Simple Mindset Tweak Will Improve Your Entire Life In 2025
Picture this: You're on a first date with someone who you thought would be a perfect fit, but after a few awkward silences and misaligned opinions, you quickly discover that they aren’t the right fit. Everyone has been on these less-than-ideal dates, but there are several different ways you might respond to them. One person may go home, replaying the experience in their mind and stressing over the time “wasted.” They’ll dwell on all the reasons the date didn’t work out, spending the night sulking and complaining to their friends.
Meanwhile, another person might see it as a learning experience, thinking to themselves that although the date didn’t go anywhere, they learned a little bit about someone else (or better yet, themselves). They’ll remind themselves that there are “plenty of fish in the sea,” and they’ll move forward with their day knowing that their time will come. It’s not that the date was any different for these people, but rather that one of them is thinking with an abundance mindset —and, as you might imagine, there are a lot of benefits to applying that mentality to your life.
“Someone with an abundance mindset holds a basic belief that challenges, failures, and any roadblocks are part of development, whereas someone with a scarcity mindset lives in constant fear about what is lacking,” says Sarah Sarkis, PsyD, a licensed clinical psychologist in Boston. People who are inclined towards scarcity might feel a sense of competition over collaboration, as everything feels like a race for “limited resources,” she adds. They’re often fixated on what’s immediately in front of them, while someone with an abundance mindset looks ahead, recognizing long-term opportunities and possibilities.
What’s more, someone with an abundance mindset embraces challenges and views obstacles as an opportunity, says Sarkis. “They take on a lens that challenges are just setbacks on our way to mastery, and that effort and struggle are part of the learning process.”
Meet the experts: Sarah Sarkis, PsyD, is a licensed clinical psychologist in Boston. Maddy Ellberger, LCSW, is a licensed therapist and founder of Downtown Behavioral Wellness.
Ultimately, the core difference between these two perspectives is that someone with an abundance mindset feels a sense of security that everything will work out in the end, adds Maddy Ellberger, LCSW, licensed therapist and founder of Downtown Behavioral Wellness. This perspective can greatly benefit your mental health as it helps reduce stress and anxiety. For example, someone with a scarcity mindset might constantly worry about missed opportunities, or deal with an overwhelming feeling of FOMO. Meanwhile, someone with an abundance mindset lives each day focusing on the fullness of life rather than fixating on what’s missing, which can inherently create more day-to-day ease.
Even if you’ve lived with a scarcity mindset in the past, it’s possible to shift your thinking, as some strategies and practices can help you cultivate an abundance mindset at any stage of life. Ahead, therapists explain their top tips on how to embrace abundant thinking.
1. Try to decode your scarcity thoughts.
If you’re actively trying to stop thinking with a scarcity mindset, you first have to decode and understand where those thoughts are coming from. Maybe this involves seeing a licensed therapist to work through childhood trauma, but it can also be practiced at home by journaling. Sarkis recommends writing your stream-of-consciousness thoughts in a journal on one side of a page, and challenging any scarcity thoughts on the other side.
“That kind of practice is helpful when you’re still in the phase of trying to catch that you’re even thinking with scarcity,” she says. Maybe you see yourself constantly writing sentences that start with “I can’t,” or downplaying your accomplishments. Taking ownership of how you speak to yourself can help you decode any unconscious limiting beliefs.
2. Practice gratitude.
Someone trying to develop an abundance mindset might struggle to fully embrace the idea of accepting failure as a learning lesson, but that doesn’t mean they can't start small by practicing gratitude. “Just practicing training ourselves to be grateful amidst our mess is a practice of abundance in itself,” Sarkis says. Whether you're giving yourself a motivational pep talk in the mirror each morning or writing a gratitude list before bed, the simple act of shifting focus toward the positives in your life can help you foster a sense of contentment and gradually shift your mindset toward abundance.
3. Surround yourself with others who have an abundance mindset.
The people you surround yourself with can subtly influence your behaviors, which is why it’s crucial to build relationships with those who set a positive example. "We are somewhat an accumulation of the people we surround ourselves with, so start to surround yourself with communities, connections, and relationships that nurture your growth," Sarkis says. If you find yourself in friendships marked by constant competition and comparison, breaking free from those thought patterns can be difficult, which is why it is important to surround yourself with supportive, uplifting friends who can help you grow and thrive.
4. Press pause on decisions.
Someone with an abundance mindset doesn’t act on urgency, since they “don’t have the pressure of something needing to happen immediately,” says Ellberger. Thus, she recommends pressing the pause button on decision-making. For example, if you find a pair of jeans you like and there are only a few pairs left, let yourself think about it rather than pulling out your credit card within seconds. Ellberger recommends setting a physical timer—maybe for an hour or so—and trying to do something else during that time rather than ruminating about the decision.
5. Routinely celebrate other people's successes.
Someone with an abundance mindset values collaboration rather than competition. Thus, Sarkis recommends making it a rule that you will always celebrate other people’s successes, which can be a great way to “challenge that scarcity belief,” she says. Whether it's a friend’s engagement or a colleague’s promotion at work, you won’t hold back from celebrating just because you’re not in the same place. With time, you'll realize that everyone’s journeys are uniquely their own (and see that it’s normal for everyone to be at different stages in life), and as a result, you'll feel less intimidated by the achievements and successes of others.
6. Find space for reflection in your daily routine.
Incorporating movement and embodiment practices can be a powerful tool for self-reflection and regulation, which can help you shift your thinking and develop an abundance mindset, according to Sarkis. “You don’t have to do it every day, but begin to have a relationship with yourself that can give you the space for reflection and all of the benefits that come from self-regulation,” Sarkis says.
While her top recommendation is taking even just a few minutes to meditate each day, any type of embodiment practice works—whether that’s yoga, a walk, or mindful breathing.
7. Set time limits.
Someone with a scarcity mindset might feel a constant fear of missing out, worrying they’ll lose their chance at finding love or landing an opportunity if they step away from their search even for a few hours. “They would say, ‘I can’t not open the apps for an entire day because then I could be missing out on something,’” Ellberger says. To counter the urge, she recommends setting intentional time limits for areas of your life where you feel fixated—whether that means restricting yourself to scrolling through job listings for just one hour a day or taking a couple of days off from dating apps altogether.
For someone with a scarcity mindset, going completely cold turkey can feel daunting, but starting small is key. However, you can utilize daily time limit settings on apps to create healthy boundaries and gradually build the confidence to let go of the constant urge to check.
8. Diversify what fulfills you.
Sometimes, there will be something great right in front of you, but your scarcity mindset has you ruminating about what’s lacking. If you find that you are fixated on one aspect of your life, Ellberger recommends taking time to “cultivate other parts of your life” to help those scarcity areas feel smaller and less life-or-death.
For instance, if you’re obsessing over a difficult period at work, you can use your after-work hours to focus on activities that energize and inspire you. This could mean joining a local activity, like a book club or trivia night, or diving into hobbies and passions that bring you joy and fulfillment outside of the workplace. Over time, one of these activities could become the highlight of your week—and could even open doors to a new career path or role that truly excites you.
9. Be mindful of comparison.
Fixating on what someone else has can be a natural impulse—and also one that fuels scarcity thinking. But, it’s important to “be mindful of what assumptions you’re making about what others have, and the idea that they have what you don't because you never actually know,” Ellberger says. Someone might appear to have the picture-perfect family that you’ve always dreamed of—but life is more than what people choose to share with their Instagram followers.
10. Work with a therapist.
Your thinking doesn’t typically come from just one thing—rather, it's a culmination of “how your brain has experienced your world and collected data about your life,” says Ellberger. For example, maybe you felt left out as a kid, so now you constantly fear not having enough friends; or maybe, growing up without financial stability has left you stressed about spending, even though you’re in a secure financial spot. “It’s our brain making a coding mistake and overgeneralizing one or several experiences we had and creating a belief,” she says.
But, just because you’ve been thinking with a scarcity mindset for years doesn’t mean it can’t be changed. “Everything is learned, so everything can be unlearned,” Ellberger says. Working with a therapist can help you to change beliefs by helping to tackle behaviors that are enabling those thoughts, or that have you feeling stuck in your way of thinking.
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