The Scarcity Mindset

They say that one has to really understand what people don't have access to and the broad social structure of being poor. It seems that you must also understand the psychology of abundance in order to understand the psychology of scarcity. Researchers wrote that if scarcity can engage you too much, abundance might also engage you too little.

Scarcity can make people become better problem-solvers. The lack of available resources makes the expenses more pressing and insistent. For example, grocery expenses seem like a larger problem to you or this month's rent always catches your attention. When money is tight, you engage deeply in solving problems.

I remember when I was under financial stress, it made me a good problem solver. I remember what my mum used to say when we always didn't have money - find a way! At the time, the primary concern was always food, not love and affection. Not dreams and ambitions. But my deep focus on our genuine problems helped me make accurate decisions later in life. Or it probably just made me more practical and cold. Perhaps this says a lot as to why I have zero patience with the high drama and petty problems of the mollycoddled people.

Most people these days seem to increase their expenses when their income increases. But even when I had a high-paying corporate job, I had never felt this urge. I can live with 2 pairs of clothing and I wouldn't even care. It must be that borderline poverty in childhood that made me become frugal later in life. Even though I'm now abundant than I've ever been, I still have that scarcity mindset. Or perhaps just scarred for life. I always think that I might lose everything tomorrow. So I have some stash of cash or crypto now. Or a can of tuna. I am going back to not to eating too much for survival. And train my body and mind not to get attached to comfort food and modern conveniences. These things are not going to last. Even in terms of diet, I also have that scarcity mindset.

But poverty can also harm cognition. Contrary to what most people believe, poverty is not always brought by 'bad decisions'. Don't fall for that propaganda that people brought the unfortunate circumstances upon themselves. There's a reality that people really need help, not 'thoughts and prayers'. If you want them to participate in your high world and make good decisions, take away the poverty that has been 'brought upon them' first.

When you're under poverty stress, it can also lead to bad decisions. For example, in terms of borrowing money, poor people tend to borrow more than they should have. Sometimes they were better off when they didn't borrow money. Poverty can lead to good decisions but also counterproductive ones.

Poor people have different preferences in life, if the basic needs are met first, their attention would then begin to shift to other opportunities. But it is hard for most people to understand this perspective, it is easier to judge and make conclusions about poor people's behavior, like their laziness or lack of intelligence. But it is not really about that, when you're under financial stress, it can be hard to take in all the information. The policy-makers attempt to catch attention through programs and anti-poverty initiatives, but what they didn't understand is the 'heavy attention tax' that prevents poor people from shifting their thoughts to other opportunities. They have to take into account the 'spare attentional capacity' to notice other things. If you are to reduce the poverty in this world, you have to understand the psychology of scarcity.