Scarcity Brain: Fix Your Craving Mindset and Rewire Your Habits to Thrive with Enough

by Michael Easter

From an economic perspective, any hobby that costs time or money is a losing venture. The gambler could just as much ask, “Why pay $50 for a concert ticket when you know you’re not going to get the money back? Why pay $100 to play a round of golf when you’re not getting the money back?” If a gambler loses money playing a slot machine but still had fun, they have, in a way, won. If they happen to leave the casino with more money, they’ve double-won. See, that’s the thing: Falling into the scarcity loop can be fun. The combination of opportunity, unpredictable rewards, and quick repeatability provides the structure for the ultimate game. But if we play it too often and escape into it for reasons beyond fun, the problems can pile up, said Sahl.