This is when you feel like you are not enough (you are) in terms of appearance, strength, talent, intelligence, or that you are lacking in something like money, friends, a nice house, great car, and on and on and on. We often have this kind of mindset when we compare ourselves to others.
We live in a culture of never enough where we constantly see we are not enough and then we are sold products that will making us enough. We are inundated with images and media that tell us we NEED these products to make us whole. This makes us feel like we are never enough. Like we can’t accomplish our health goals.
If you have a scarcity mindset, you might be:
setting goals based on what you believe you are supposed to be doing to get your health back
unhappy when you achieve a goal but it only brings temporary happiness
saying you will never have your health or enough time or enough sleep or….
looking at other women and thinking you won’t have what they have
showing anxiety or worry about the thought of sharing your thoughts about diet changes
expressing behaviors or words that align with the fear of missing out- overeating or eating foods that harm your body due to fear of not being able to eat like that again
What you can do to kick scarcity to the curb
Be grateful for something- focus on all the amazing things you have. It will show you that you are and you have enough. Name 3 things you are grateful for each day. Whatever you can feel good to you in the moment, notice it and be grateful.
Curate your social media if you are on it or have not deleted it. Audit your social media to see if it is focusing on showing you lack. Don’t wallow in others highlight reels, accomplishments, and perfectly crafted posts- it can lead to feelings of inferiority and lack.
Don’t should yourself. Women feel like there are a lot of shoulds resting on their shoulders. Combine that with. negative feelings about your health (and your body) and it is a recipe for guilt and shame. Societal norms lead us to a set of standards, behaviors, and appearances that we come to believe we should meet. How should we look? How should we feel (healthwise)? We have to stop doing that.
Avoid negative self talk - what are you saying to yourself? Do you say things to yourself that you would never say to anyone to their face?