The Specialness of Scarcity

Maybe you need more of it

You start your car and you catch a Smash Mouth song on the radio. You are pumped and drum your fingers on the steering wheel and gently nod your head along and whisper “Hey now, you’re a rockstar.” There is something special about that moment that you captured lightning in a bottle. Now, you very easily could have selected that same song on Spotify, but it wouldn’t have been the same.

This is what I call the specialness of scarcity. The example was also serendipitous because it was a chance occurrence, but I believe scarcity is the bigger theme here since you caught a limited edition. It’s not anytime that your antenna literally grabs that song from thin air. Spotify provides unlimited options and with that the specialness evaporates. If we think scarcity is special, we can build it into our lives.

We live in an age of abundance. And that’s truly a blessing. Most of the world doesn’t have to deal with hunger. But a billion deal with obesity. We can access any digital content in seconds, but it takes us hours to decide. Abundance is great.

Now there is scarcity. We think limited edition items are special. The extreme end of scarcity is unavailable which is at times is even more desirable. Why do you only want Chick-fil-a on Sundays?

I imagine online dating probably removes the element of scarcity and has caused huge changes in relationships. You are going through an infinite pile of secretaries, so when should you stop?

So, how do incorporate scarcity into your life? It may be as simple as don’t be a glutton. Don’t order Uber Eats regularly, go somewhere special. Don’t watch endless Netflix, go to a movie. Don’t just follow your friends online, go visit them.

Yet, there is irony to this advice. In preaching efficiency I’d say your time is too valuable, so order in, be it food or a movie. Yet, we can’t let efficiency drive our life. We want to be optimal within our constraints. Introducing scarcity is adding a constraint to our life, but I believe it is a positive one.

Your 20s are short. Your time with your children is short. Your life is short. The limited amount makes it special.