When you think about who lives with passion, you think of people who live life “all in.” They have a zest for life and are focused on making impact. When generosity and passion combine, it’s a real game-changer.
On the way to living with passion, there are two basic mindsets that either free us to move forward or stop us from sacrificing for something greater than ourselves: scarcity and abundance.
Scarcity holds us back
With a scarcity mindset, we believe that we live in a world where there is never enough. As a result of our life experiences, we have learned that we need to hoard or consume all we can because ‘you never know what tomorrow holds!’ We can become preoccupied with getting more and securing what we do have. Our worldview tells us ‘more equals secure’ so we experience discontentment as we focus on what we don’t have. Concentrating on ourselves trumps the ability to see others’ needs as greater than our own.
Our ability to sacrifice for someone else and to live generously will always be hesitant and anxiety filled when we believe we live in a world of scarcity.
But there is another way.
Abundance makes us free
When we live with an abundance mindset, we believe our needs will be met. Come what may, we will be ok.
This is a very empowering mindset because we are free to consider others. Hospitality flows because we know there is always enough to share. We naturally help our neighbor and volunteer our time and financial resources because we acknowledge with gratitude how much we’ve been given. Life has greater meaning because we are free to focus on something greater than ourselves. We live with greater contentment because we believe we will have enough.
The abundance mindset is the secret to living with passion. I grew up in a home with very limited financial resources. My mother, however, parented with an abundance perspective. We moved about every two years and didn’t live near relatives, but mom would always exclaim, “We’re so blessed! Look at the new friends we’ve made. Look at the opportunities we have to help others.” There was always enough to share.
And it seemed the resources multiplied every time we gave. I discovered that abundance didn’t have anything to do with the size of our bank accounts, but had everything to do with our belief about the Supplier. Focusing on what we had, instead of what we lacked, provided the fuel to live a life of passion and sacrificing for others.
“….the testimony of those who have shifted in their minds, spirits, and emotions from an imagined world of scarcity and insecurity to one of abundance, blessing, sufficiency, and overflow is almost always the same: it is liberating. It makes every bite more tasty, every good more blessed, every sunset more beautiful, every embrace more warm, every day more a gift.”
– The Paradox of Generosity
