MIND POWER

Benefit by developing win-win thinking

BY Archana Law

Since the dawn of humanity, a privileged few have lived in stark contrast to the majority; and conventional wisdom says this gap can never be closed. If you too believe this statement, you need to shift to the ‘abundance mentality.’

Dr. Stephen Covey famously declared: “Most people are deeply scripted in what I call the ‘scarcity mentality,’ seeing life as having only so much as though there is only one pie out there. And if someone was to get a big piece of the pie, it would mean less for everybody else.”

The scarcity mentality is the zero-sum paradigm of life, and people have a very difficult time sharing recognition and credit, power or profit, or even being genuinely happy about the success of others.

In the late 18th century, British political economist Thomas Robert Malthus realised that while food production expands linearly, population grows exponentially. He declared: “The power of population is indefinitely greater than the power of the Earth to produce subsistence for man.”

Many thinkers echoed this concern but it was the downstream result of a small meeting held in 1968 that alerted the world to the depth of the crisis.

British chemist Alexander King and Italian industrialist Aurelio Peccei formed a multidisciplinary group of leading international thinkers – which was to become known as the Club of Rome – at a small villa in Rome. They gathered to discuss the problems of short-term thinking in a long-term world.

In 1972, they published the results of that discussion titled The Limits to Growth, which became an instant classic, selling 12 million copies in 30 languages and scaring almost everyone who read it! Using a model comparing worldwide population growth to global resource consumption rates, the message was clear: we are running out of resources and time.

Scarcity is often contextual. For instance, in the corporate world, many have been conditioned to believe that promotions and pay increments are scarce, and resources limited, managers hoard information, micromanagement abounds and favouritism is the norm.

If you pluck all the oranges from the lower branches of a tree that is packed with fruit, the perception is that oranges are scarce. But once someone invents a piece of technology called a ladder, suddenly there’s new fruit – in abundance, in fact.

We all know that these are turbulent times. A glance at the news is enough to set anyone on edge, and with the endless media stream that’s become part and parcel of our lives lately, it is hard to stay away from the headlines.

Economic meltdowns, natural disasters and terror attacks will make the concept of abundance seem far-off, alien and even nonsensical. Yet, the overall quality of life has improved more in the past century than ever before.


Innovation pioneer Peter Diamandis and award-winning science writer Steven Kotler have documented how progress in AI, robotics, infinite computing, digital manufacturing and many other exponentially growing technologies will enable us to make greater gains in the next two decades than we have in the previous 200 years.

Indeed, abundance for all is within our grasp!

Moreover, the greatest tool we have for tackling grand challenges is the human mind. The information and communications revolution that’s underway is rapidly spreading across the planet. Over the next few years, billions of new individuals will be able to contribute ideas to which we’ve never before had access. This in turn is likely to result in new discoveries, products and inventions that benefit us all.

The abundance mentality flows from an inner sense of personal worth and security. It’s the paradigm that there’s plenty and enough for everyone. It leads to sharing, and opens up possibilities, options, alternatives and creativity.

Abundance is a radical vision and before we can start striving for it, defining it for ourselves is a necessity.

Focus on what you have and incorporate gratitude into your life, and be around people who have an abundance mindset. Think and create win-win situations because when everyone has a chance to shine, everyone wins and there aren’t any losers. Train your mind to recognise possibilities, options, choices and resources.

Have appreciative conversations about things going well and personal achievements; leave out things you don’t have and will never achieve. Organise your home and life to discover how many things, and how much time, you have in your life already. Share what you have with people – your time, knowledge and connections – and stop comparing yourself to others.

And remember that when someone else is rewarded, it doesn’t mean you’re left in the wilderness; it simply means that someone else had a good thing happen in his or her life, which is worth celebrating.