Glasses of Sufficiency
A few weeks ago, life threw me a curveball—literally. I was hit with a dart in the eyeball (yes, you read that right), and on the very same day, my glasses vanished into thin air. Two things happened back-to-back that made me realize just how dependent I was on something as simple as seeing clearly. Suddenly, I was without my glasses, one eye hurt badly, and the stress began to creep in. What if I couldn’t function? What if I couldn’t hold my client sessions? What if I couldn’t get a new pair quickly enough? The pressure mounted because I was due to travel for three weeks, and my head throbbed with a migraine.
Looking back, it wasn’t just the absence of my glasses that caused the stress. It was the fact that I was focusing entirely on what I didn’t have, rather than thinking about what I could create or how I could adapt. And in the end, the solution was simple: just get a new pair of glasses.
But the real lesson was much deeper than that.
The A-Ha Moment: Shifting from Lack to Creation
At that moment, a huge a-ha hit me: I had been so caught up in what was missing, what I didn’t have, that I forgot to look at what could be created. My focus was entirely on lack.
Isn’t that how we tend to live our lives sometimes? We fixate on the bigger house we don’t own yet, the extra money we wish we had, or the job that still feels out of reach. We tell ourselves we’re striving for more, but what we’re really doing is focusing on what we don’t have. We’re trapped in a scarcity mindset, constantly vibrating in a negative way that reflects our dissatisfaction.
But what if, instead of focusing on lack, we shifted our perspective to what we can create?
Glasses as Our Lens on Life
Those missing glasses weren’t just a minor inconvenience—they became a metaphor for how we sometimes see life. What lens are we looking through? Is it one of scarcity and insufficiency? Or is it a lens that allows us to see the potential and the abundance around us?
The lens we choose is crucial. No, it doesn’t have to be rose-colored. Life isn’t about pretending everything is perfect. But what we can ask ourselves is: What am I focusing on?
When you’re constantly thinking about what’s missing, like not having enough money, the energy you project is one of insufficiency. You’re telling the universe, “I don’t have enough.” And that energy only attracts more lack.
The Sufficiency Mindset: Focus on What You Have
The antidote to scarcity is sufficiency. But how do we step into that mindset?
It starts with asking, Where are my needs already met? You might be surprised at how much sufficiency already exists in your life. Maybe you’re not rolling in extra cash, but you have enough to cover your bills. Maybe you’re not in your dream job yet, but you have opportunities to learn and grow where you are right now.
When you begin to focus on the areas where you are supported, where you do have enough, that energy shifts, it expands. Sufficiency creates space for abundance to flow in. The more you focus on where your cup is already full, the more you realize it’s not as empty as you thought—and maybe it’s overflowing in ways you hadn’t noticed.
Practical Tips: Shifting from Scarcity to Sufficiency
If you’re ready to swap your scarcity glasses for sufficiency lenses, here are a few practical steps:
Start each day by listing 5 things you already have enough of. This could be anything from supportive relationships to a stable income.
Whenever you catch yourself thinking, “I don’t have enough,” pause and ask, Is that really true? Then counter it with a truth about where your needs are being met.
Instead of obsessing over what you lack, think about what you can create, expand and grow with what you do have. This opens up a world of possibilities and invites abundance.
Conclusion: See Life through a New Lens
Next time you feel yourself slipping into the trap of scarcity, stop and ask: What lens am I looking through? Are you focused on lack, or are you seeing the opportunities and the abundance that are already present in your life?
Just like I had to replace my missing glasses to see clearly, sometimes we need to replace the old lenses of scarcity with new ones that let us see sufficiency. From there, you’ll be amazed at how much more there is to appreciate and create.