This is an interesting paradox some people might stumble upon or think about on their self improvement journey. I guess you can call it the abundance paradox.
We are all told we should feel grateful for what we have, to really feel the abundance in our lives and I highly recommend doing it. It’s a great habit to have. It makes you really appreciate what you have, makes you happy, more down to earth, etc.
But here’s the question that arises.
If I feel truly abundant, doesn’t that kill any ambition to get more in my life?
Because without ambition, without desire, nothing gets done. And if nothing gets done, you’re in the same place as you are right now. So you never really get more. But you don’t want more because you feel abundant. But deep down inside, a part of you does want a little bit more – there is a desire, albeit a small one, but because you already feel predominately abundant, that desire to get more is not strong enough to actually make you go out there and get more.
Hence the abundance paradox.
The logic of it certainly has some merit because we all know without desire, nothing gets done.
So if you feel abundant, hence killing desire for more, are you doomed to stay in your current situation forever, even though a part of you still wants more?
How do we reconcile this paradox?
It’s really simple actually.
The key is in the second part of the title of this article:
“Still Want More”
But what you do you still want more OF?
It’s kind of hard to feel abundant materially and still want more. Yes you might want more, but it’s just a “lukewarm” desire, not a red hot burning one, the kind you need to go out and get it.
For example, let’s say you have 100,000 pounds of rice sitting in your garage. I’m guessing you feel pretty abundant. Is your desire to get another pound of rice white hot? Especially if you have to jump through a lot of hoops to get it?
Not really.
Chances are you’re not going to expend the energy to get another pound of rice because you already have so many.
BUT if you feel abundant, you can STILL want more.
BUT NOT MORE OF THE THINGS THAT ONLY SERVE TO BENEFIT YOU.
That’s the key right there.
You see, the people who are stuck in the abundance paradox are only thinking of THEMSELVES.
When you get OUT of that mentality, you can feel abundant and still want more – IN TERMS OF HELPING OTHERS.
When you step into the mentality of helping others, that’s when you TRULY feel abundant, not just financially, but mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
Going back to that rice example, let’s say you’ve found out just how bad people are suffering in Africa, living on less than a handful of rice and water everyday.
Now can you feel that desire for getting that extra pound of rice get white hot?
Because it’s not for you anymore.
It’s to help others.
So you maybe organize a charity or start a foundation or maybe work in one.
You get experience in it, you meet a lot of new people, maybe even rub elbows with a few celebrities who can help promote your cause.
And in doing so, in losing ourselves in service to others, that’s when we TRULY feel abundant – in every sense of the word.
That’s how you can feel abundant and still want more.
When you realize that there’s enough for you and you turn your desire into helping others, you will truly feel abundant in every sense of the word.
But let’s say your current situation doesn’t allow you to do that. Let’s say your job doesn’t allow you the time to do that.
So maybe you start a business that can run on autopilot after a couple of years that will provide you with the financing to help achieve your dreams of helping people in Africa avoid starvation.
You see, before that, the job was enough. It gave you everything you needed and wanted and made you feel abundant. But a part of you wanted more in your life, maybe more freedom to pursue your interests so the idea of starting your own business floated around in your head, but there was no kick to do it.
Now, there’s a kick, a kick that’s fueled by focus on others, not just yourself and that will drive you do what you need to do in order to get more to help others, and it’s through this that you actually get more things not just materially and financially, but emotionally and spiritually that will help you fulfill your mission in service to others.
We should all get to the point in our lives where we feel abundant ourselves.
And then get to the point where we can feel TRULY abundant by serving others so that the people we help can get to the point where they feel abundant themselves so that they may in turn, get to the point where they can feel TRULY abundant by serving others, letting the cycle continue indefinitely.
Imagine the kind of world that will be.
