Abundance Mentality

We live in such a world and culture of abundance. Even the poorest in this nation rank high above the poorest in the rest of the world. We have so many choices about what to do with our energy, time, and money. But all this abundance can actually make us feel constrained.

I think because there are TOO many options, we get overloaded (I know I do!). I think about my little two-year-old; if I show her five pairs of shoes (can you believe a two-year-old HAS five pairs of shoes??) and ask her which she wants to wear, she will get frozen in indecision. But if I give her a choice between two, she immediately knows which ones she wants.

As an adult -- and as an adult with relatively high monetary and scheduling freedom -- I can feel the same way. I experience this with my art all the time. All of the sudden, it isn't a choice between the red crayon and the green one; it's a choice between the red and the green and the lime green and the lemon yellow and the cerise and the magenta and... well, you get the picture.

The more choices I have, the harder that decision becomes. I get caught up in making the "right" decision -- but the more options, the harder it is to discern between them. Our brains are wired to operate very quickly in binary (on/off, yes/no, go/no go), but once we're presented with a plethora of choices, we suddenly try to make distinctions between them and rank them in some way -- when in actuality, there may be no "right" or "wrong," just as "sea green" isn't necessarily any better a choice than "teal."

When we feel overwhelmed, we feel attacked, defensive, scared, anxious -- the same emotions we'd feel if someone were trying to make off with the leg of cavebear we just caught and roasted. Suddenly, we move into scarcity mentality, even though the emotions arose from an overabundance of choices.

What's the solution? I can think of a few. Limit the choices we give ourselves (tell yourself to create the next piece of art using only what's on your desk, for instance). Remind ourselves that we have plenty of waht we need-- even plenty of time, if we choose carefully. And opt for the things we love, the ones that make our hearts sing. Don't stick with something because it's "good enough." There really isn't enough time for "good enough."

Comments

[maria]

OMG Lainie, this post is simply phenomenal! I loved every word you said. It's so true! Just like all your recent posts...I love them! Thanks for sharing these wonderful posts and inspire me to think and dig deep...

[~Kristie]

You hit the nail on the head with that one!! It must be why I like to get away from home occasionally. When I don't have all my home distractions (dogs, knitting, card-making, house-cleaning, etc), my life seems a little simpler.