What If There’s Enough for Everyone?

I remember a conversation I had years ago that has stayed with me.

A friend and I were chatting about our goals for the year. I had just hit a financial milestone—one I’d been working toward for a long time—and instead of celebrating, I found myself shrinking it down in the conversation, making it sound smaller and less significant than it was.

Why?

Because somewhere in the back of my mind, I had this quiet, unspoken thought:
If I share too much about what’s going well, someone else might feel badly about their situation
If I take up too much space talking about me, someone else might feel less than.

I didn’t have the language for it then, but now I see it clearly: that was zero-sum thinking at work.

Zero-sum thinking is the belief that there’s only so much to go around.

Only so much success.
Only so much time.
Only so many opportunities.
Only so much joy.

It’s a mindset that says that if someone else has more, I must have less.

And if I have more, someone else will go without.

This way of thinking is very sneaky. It hides underneath comparison, guilt, competition, and scarcity. And whether you’re a coach or not, it affects how you show up in your work, your relationships, and your decisions.

I hear this in conversations all the time. And just this week…

• My friend hesitates to put her work in the world because she’s noticed someone is already selling a similar product.

• My brother holds back a big idea at work move because he’s worried it might seem selfish or opportunistic.

• A new coach in the Golden Coaching Certification wants to celebrate signing a client but initially downplays it because others haven’t yet.

Zero-sum thinking tells us that if we shine, we might dim someone else’s light.
If we receive, someone else will go without.
Or that if we ask for more, we’re being greedy.

But what if none of that is true?

What if someone else’s success is evidence that it’s possible for you, too?
What if there’s not just enough to go around—but more than enough?
And if your thriving opens a door for someone else to do the same?

This shift in mindset—from scarcity to sufficiency—changes everything.

It allows us to root more deeply into collaboration instead of comparison.
To celebrate without guilt.
Want more without shame and with abundance.

So today, I’m inviting you to notice:

Where might zero-sum thinking be limiting your joy, your growth, or your visibility?

Where are you shrinking, holding back, or hesitating—not because you aren’t ready, but because you’re afraid of taking up too much?

And what becomes possible when you choose to believe there’s enough—enough time, enough opportunity, enough support, enough success—for all of us?

This is one of the most liberating shifts we can make in our personal growth, in our work, and in our relationships.

Because the truth is, the more you expand, the more space you create for others to do the same.

With immense appreciation & gratitude. Always.