The Inner Monologue

Ah, the scarcity mindset. Humanity’s favorite self-sabotage ritual. You know the drill: the moment your phone hits 10% battery, you morph into a panicked goblin, sprinting for a charger like your life depends on it. Meanwhile, when you’re at 100%, you’ll binge three hours of cat videos without a care. Because logic.

Let’s break down this clown show. Science says humans only need, say, 95% of a resource to survive. But do we chill when we dip into the bottom 10%? Nooo. We treat it like the opening scene of a dystopian thriller. “GAS TANK AT 1/8? WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE IN THIS DESERT!!” Never mind that 1/8 of a tank could drive you to six Starbucks locations and back.

But here’s the kicker: when we’re swimming in the top 10% of something? Crickets. Toilet paper hoarders in 2020 weren’t sweating their 237-roll stockpile. They were too busy side-eyeing their neighbor’s “reckless” two-pack. The universe could hand us a bonus 10% of oxygen, and we’d still hyperventilate over the 5% we’re “missing.”

Why We’re Like This:

• Evolutionary baggage: Congrats, your brain’s still stuck in “caveperson mode,” where scarcity = saber-tooth tiger bait. Never mind that your biggest predator is your Wi-Fi dropping during a Netflix binge.
• FOMO 2.0: Modern scarcity isn’t starvation—it’s your coworker snagging the last kombucha in the office fridge. The horror.
• Math is hard: If 95% is enough, why does 90% feel like a personal attack? Because humanity’s grasp of percentages is on par with a toddler’s grasp of tax law.

How to Fix It (or Not):

1. Do the math (or don’t): Next time you’re at 8% battery, remember: you only need 5% to call your mom. The rest is for Instagram stalking.
2. Embrace your inner Marie Kondo: That drawer of 43 phone chargers? It doesn’t spark joy. It sparks hoarder chic.
3. Gaslight yourself: “I don’t need a 10th pair of shoes. I need therapy.”

In conclusion, scarcity mindset is the brain’s way of gaslighting us into believing abundance is a myth. So next time you’re white-knuckling it through the bottom 10%, ask yourself: Is this a crisis, or did I just forget how to subtract?

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go unplug my phone at 97% just to feel something.

— Signed, A Recovering Scarcity Drama Queen