I talk a lot about the importance of an abundance mindset. When it comes to being open to the world and all its possibilities, believing that there are endless opportunities only serves to propel us out of our comfort zones and lead us to where we ultimately want to be. When we believe that there aren’t enough pieces of the pie to go around, we become discouraged and develop a scarcity mindset. The idea of abundance mindset is more of a way of being. It is more about having gratitude for what you have and feeling hopeful of what is to come.
But what happens when you have an abundance of something in your life? Do you lose appreciation for it? Do you take it for granted, assuming it will always be there because it has been for so long?
This pandemic and shortages of supplies that have come in waves where we live has shown me that I’ve taken some things for granted. Obviously, no one could have predicted how the world would respond to the pandemic and wouldn’t have seen our own vulnerabilities as a nation with logistics had this not happened. But boy, there are some things I never thought I would be going to multiple stores for multiple weeks trying to get! And they are basic things!
A few years ago, my husband and I used to eat out a lot. We haven’t eaten out in a long time now for health reasons. But I noticed that the more we did it, the less special it was. It became more special to make a meal at home! You tend lose appreciation for things you have in abundance. We went to places like In N Out and the Cheesecake Factory (which is really bad for you in terms of calorie count!) often.
A few days ago, we were out running errands and drove by In N Out Burger and I said to my husband, “Wouldn’t a double-double animal style be amazing? With a neo shake?” He it said it would be and we thought about it for a minute. We haven’t eaten out in over two years, no joke! Not because of the pandemic, but a concerted effort on our part to eat better and eat cleaner. Then I was like, “nah, we can make something like it at home”. But we had a sense of appreciation for it because we haven’t had it in a long time. When we went all the time, we just stopped appreciating it.
What do you have in your life in abundance? Have you lost appreciation for it over time?
