Hi Reader,

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Welcome to Rev Up for the Week, where each Sunday I send you a simple thought to supercharge the week ahead.

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I've been out doing client keynotes this week, sharing some of the ideas from 'KIND'. One thing that's started a lot of conversations is the idea of abundance, and more specifically, abundance vs scarcity. I want to share this with you.

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What I'm about to share, I believe with all of my soul, but I also know that part of our brain deeply rejects it. What can be objectively and logically true doesn't feel in our bodies like something that can be true.

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Listen to the voices chatter in your head, either as you say these words out loud, or just read them calmly and slowly to yourself:

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There is enough time.

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There is enough.

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I am enough.

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Part of you might bristle when you hear these phrases, which come from an abundant place. These words challenge the deep-seated scarcity narrative that we are bombarded with by advertisers, news coverage, bosses and the system we live in.

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"what a load of optimistic, quasi-spiritual, overly-positive, confident, unrealistic, privileged..."

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I hear you. The mental chatter of scarcity floods my own thoughts on this fairly often, too. I was brought up in a family where money was scarce (I was a free school meals kid at school), and at various times in my life I've taken on other people's negative beliefs and let them shape me for the worse. So the feelings of scarcity run deeply through me too.

Our amygdalla is wired for scarcity, because it's wired for survival. And it's egged on by every Instagram ad, every bro with a podcast, every boss with a deadline, every dating app, every newspaper property supplement - all telling us to do more, be more, optimise every part of ourselves, to cover up our imperfections, and keep reaching for what's just out of reach.

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And yes, of course we could all do with a bit more money, a bit more confidence, and a bit more headspace (because a bit more time is impossible).

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But the discomfort we feel when we recognise the truth of abundance is deep:

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There is enough money and enough resources in the world to feed and clothe everybody very comfortably. We choose to accept competition for resources rather than collaboration over them (and no, it hasn't always been like this!).

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Most of the work-based time squeezes and emergencies we experience are artificial constructs of bad planning. There's enough time to make enough of a contribution, somewhere.

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And most importantly of all, you are enough.

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You don't need to be better, more optimised, thinner, or more fashionable. You don't need higher performance (much as it might be fun or rewarding sometimes).

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It's brave, difficult and even radical to consciously try to rewire our brains for abundance. We are up against scarcity's army of reinforcements.

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But the scarcity mindset is failing us as a species. It's time to choose another way.

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So this week, I invite you to carry these three phrases with you. Say them quietly but calmly to yourself in moments of busy and in moments of space.

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There is enough time.

There is enough.

I am enough.

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Notice the internal struggles that these words create. Let the struggles guide your reflections and learning.

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You are enough.

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So go have a great week.

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Graham

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