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

The abundance loop contrasts sharply with the scarcity loop, representing a cycle in which individuals engage in activities that inherently reward them with a sense of fulfillment, growth, and well-being. Unlike the scarcity loop, which is driven by the relentless pursuit of material gains, the abundance loop focuses on meaningful engagement and the intrinsic rewards of everyday activities. In Scarcity Brain, Easter suggests that shifting from a scarcity mindset to an abundance mindset can lead to more sustainable happiness and satisfaction by emphasizing activities that nourish the soul and contribute to personal growth.

In the context of psychology, extinction refers to the process by which a behavior stops due to the absence of reinforcement. The book explores how traditional slot machines are akin to extinction-level events for gamblers due to their low win rates, and Easter contrasts this pattern with that of modern digital slot machines that use frequent, small rewards to keep users engaged, illustrating a fundamental shift in design philosophy aimed at exploiting the scarcity loop.

Existential realization is a term used to describe an awareness and understanding of one’s life purpose and the inherent meaning of existence. In Scarcity Brain, Easter touches upon moments of existential realization as pivotal points in which individuals are forced to reassess their priorities, their values, and the essence of what truly matters to them.