# Scarcity Shadow

By [jer979](https://paragraph.com/@jer979-2) · 2025-05-27

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One of the forces, the “shadows,” that has an outsized impact on my mentality is that of “scarcity.”

Food, money, time…the feeling that, one day, I (possibly) or definitely won’t have enough of it shoots a streak of anxiety that hits me in my stomach, my shoulders, and my eyebrows.

It impacts my outlook and, I’m sad to say, leads to either outright selfish behavior or a self-centered tendency that requires effort to overcome.

I have a sense of the source of this shadow and its origin makes sense.

But, like many of the other shadows in my life, this one no longer makes sense. It certainly isn’t serving me well and it’s not serving my community well either.

My former CEO, many years ago, picked up on this tendency of mine and encouraged me to look at the world with a mindset of abundance.

It’s not easy, but I have done it, at times, and it is liberating.

But old habits die hard. Old neural pathways run deep.

Building the bypass takes concerted effort over time.

B

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*Originally published on [jer979](https://paragraph.com/@jer979-2/scarcity-shadow)*