I’ve had survival on my mind lately. I am not a fan of reality shows, but I am finding “Alone” on the History Channel to be strangely addictive. 10 people are dropped off in wild remote places like Vancouver Island, Patagonia, Mongolia, and the Arctic, with only 10 items of their choosing. They are left utterly alone in the wilderness with no outside contact other than the occasional medical check-ins. The contestants have to fend for themselves enduring harsh weather, hunger, and loneliness without knowing how anyone else is doing. The last person standing wins $500,000.
Each person’s battle is as much about the mental fortitude as it is about survival skills and physical fitness. For me, “Alone” is as much a psychological experiment as a survival show. I feel it is a heart-wrenching depiction of the differences between surviving and thriving. This show demonstrates that the most important skillset is mindset, the survival of the most resilient. It is about trying to thrive in the wilderness rather than just hunkering down and enduring the daily struggles. In the wilderness, and along the career journey, what differentiates surviving from thriving is shifting from scarcity to abundance mindset. Abundance is all about proactively managing choices and creative problem-solving. An abundance mindset allows people to see possibilities even at time when resources are limited. Scarcity mindset is driven by fear that there will never be enough of the things we need. Abundance mindset begins with a choice to take risks and go for what we want, to live with abandon for abundance.
When we think of scarcity, we often think of challenges, costs, and consequences. Abundance mindsets flip fear-casting forecasting into positive possibilities. When we think of living life with abandon, we lead our life with curiosity, creativity, confidence and courage. There is always enough success to go around when you apply these four innate capabilities.
Curiosity: leading life with curiosity means being open to trying and learning new things.
Creativity: leading life with creativity means coming up with resourceful and unique solutions.
Confidence: leading life with confidence means keeping the delicate balance of self-acceptance and personal growth, taking responsibility for moving on, up and forward.
Courage: leading life with courage means embracing vulnerability, uncertainty and risk to conquer challenges in order to become the person you aspire to be.
To live with abundance is to be APT to adapt.
A is for Affirmation, Acknowledgement, and Appreciation.
First, affirm the facts of your situation and reality. Then, acknowledge the problems but live in possibilities. Finally, move towards your goals with appreciation for the big and small things in your life.
P is for Perceiving, Predicting, and Planning
First, perceive possibilities for action viewing problems and opportunities. Then, predict which alternative approaches are most viable. Finally, plan a feasible course of action.
T is for Trusting, Trying, and Tweaking
First, trust in yourself, others, and the abundance of life. Then, empower yourself to try out and do what you don’t feel ready for. Finally, tweak the things that if changed would make a positive difference.
The challenges you are facing may be big, but making small mindset shift can have a tremendous impact. Unlike on Alone, where the scarcity of resources is real, in our daily life, the illusion of scarcity is often created to establish the monetary value placed on goods and services. This mentality prevents us from realizing the abundance all around us. A scarcity mindset is limited, seeing danger and dead ends. An abundance mindset is expansive, seeing possibilities. When facing challenges, instead of feeling discouraged and defeated, people with an abundant mentality believe human ingenuity can create novel solutions. If you believe that an ocean of opportunities is within your reach, you can turn setbacks into success.
Train your brain for abundance. Focus on the positive opportunities and options in your career and in life rather than on what is lacking, the things not yet completed or achieved.
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