Today I Choose to be Plentiful – How to be Plentiful

Understanding How to Be Plentiful

When people hear the word plentiful, they often think about money—a plentiful bank account, a plentiful harvest, a plentiful pile of material goods. But some of my most plentiful moments have had nothing to do with money at all.

Case in point: one evening when all my adult kids were home visiting. We’d had a wonderful dinner, a few drinks, and somewhere between dessert and second glasses of wine, the conversation swerved into business ideas. Somehow—and I honestly can’t remember how—we landed on the idea of launching an online store that sold personal lubricant. Not exactly your typical family conversation.

From there, things only got more ridiculous. We started brainstorming product names: Slip ‘n Slide. Lube Skywalker. Backdoor Butter. Splooge Smoothie. Colonel Mustard (In the Rear, With the Candle). The more outrageous the names got, the harder we laughed. At one point, we were all doubled over, gasping for breath, tears streaming down our faces.

No, we never launched the store. But the sheer abundance of laughter, creativity, and joy pouring out around that table left me feeling more plentiful than a pile of twenties ever could.

That night reminded me of something important: plentiful isn’t about accumulation—it’s about amplification. It’s not the size of your bank account, your pantry, or even your calendar that determines whether life feels plentiful. It’s the way joy, laughter, and connection multiply when you give yourself permission to be fully present.

The Amplification Principle

Learning how to be plentiful requires understanding that abundance isn’t always about having more—it’s often about experiencing more deeply what you already have. That ridiculous conversation with my kids didn’t require any resources except our willingness to be silly together. But the richness of that moment created a sense of abundance that no amount of money could match.

Psychologist Dr. Fred Bryant’s research on “savoring” shows that our capacity for joy isn’t limited by our circumstances—it’s limited by our attention. When we fully engage with positive experiences, when we let ourselves amplify the good moments, we literally increase our psychological wealth.

This is the secret of plentiful living: you don’t need more money or more stuff to live a plentiful life. You need more moments where you lean into what’s already here and let it expand. You need the willingness to let laughter bubble over, to let joy multiply, to let connection deepen.

Why We Struggle with Non-Material Abundance

We live in a culture obsessed with quantifiable abundance. More followers, more square footage, more items in our online shopping carts. But the most plentiful experiences often can’t be measured in numbers. How do you quantify the abundance of uncontrollable laughter with your children? How do you measure the wealth of a moment when time seems to slow down because you’re exactly where you want to be?

Neuroscientist Dr. Rick Hanson explains that our brains are wired to notice what’s missing rather than what’s present. This “negativity bias” served our ancestors well when survival was the goal, but it works against us when we’re trying to recognize the abundance already available in our lives.

That night with my kids, I could have focused on what we didn’t have—fancy entertainment, expensive wine, a perfectly clean house. Instead, I focused on what was multiplying around that table: creativity, connection, and the kind of joy that makes your cheeks hurt from smiling.

How to Cultivate Plentiful Experiences

Give Yourself Permission to Be Fully Present: Plentiful moments require your complete attention. Put down the phone. Stop mentally organizing tomorrow’s to-do list. Sink into whatever’s happening right now and let it fill you up.

Amplify Joy When It Appears: When something delights you—a ridiculous conversation, a beautiful sunset, a moment of connection—don’t just notice it. Savor it. Let it expand. Share it. Talk about how good it feels to feel good.

Create Space for Spontaneity: Some of the most plentiful moments are unplanned. Leave room in your schedule for conversations to wander, for activities to evolve naturally, for joy to emerge in unexpected ways.

Practice Gratitude Multiplication: Instead of just noting what you’re grateful for, notice how that gratitude feels in your body. Let appreciation expand until you feel genuinely wealthy with thankfulness.

The Economics of Experiential Wealth

Dr. Thomas Gilovich’s research on happiness economics reveals something fascinating: experiential purchases create more lasting satisfaction than material ones. But what his research doesn’t capture is that the best experiences often cost very little or nothing at all.

That night brainstorming ridiculous product names didn’t cost us anything, but it created wealth that money can’t buy—shared memories, inside jokes that will make us laugh for years, and the deep satisfaction of feeling completely comfortable being silly with people you love.

This is how plentiful living works: you invest your attention, your presence, and your willingness to engage fully, and you get returns in the form of joy, connection, and satisfaction that compound over time.

When Material Resources Are Actually Scarce

Some seasons of life genuinely involve financial struggle, limited resources, and real constraints. During these times, the suggestion to “focus on what you have” can feel dismissive or tone-deaf. But this is precisely when the amplification principle becomes most important.

When my kids were young and money was tight, some of our most plentiful moments happened because of our limitations, not despite them. We couldn’t afford expensive entertainment, so we got creative. We couldn’t eat out often, so we made cooking together an adventure. We couldn’t buy elaborate gifts, so we made them by hand.

Constraint often forces creativity, and creativity is one of the most renewable sources of abundance available to us. When you can’t buy your way to a good time, you have to imagine your way there—and imagination is infinitely plentiful.

The Ripple Effects of Plentiful Living

When you live from a place of amplified abundance, when you let joy multiply and connection deepen, you don’t just change your own experience—you give others permission to do the same. That night of ridiculous laughter with my kids? It became a story we tell, a memory that makes us smile years later, and a reminder that some of life’s richest moments cost nothing but willingness to be present.

People can feel when you’re operating from a sense of plenty rather than scarcity. There’s a generosity of spirit, an openness to joy, a willingness to let good moments expand that’s magnetic. You become someone who notices abundance, creates it, and shares it freely.

Plentiful as a Daily Practice

Being plentiful isn’t something that happens to you—it’s something you choose, moment by moment. It’s the decision to let laughter last a little longer than necessary. It’s the choice to savor your coffee rather than gulp it down. It’s the willingness to have conversations that meander into delightful territory.

It’s also the recognition that plentiful doesn’t mean constant. Some days will feel scarce, limited, or difficult. But even in those seasons, there are moments—maybe tiny ones—where abundance is available if you’re willing to notice it and let it multiply.

Your Invitation to Amplify Abundance

You don’t need more money to live plentifully, though money can certainly make some things easier. You don’t need perfect circumstances or ideal conditions. You just need willingness—willingness to be present, to let joy expand, to allow connection to deepen, to give yourself permission to feel wealthy with whatever abundance is already available.

Today, choose to be plentiful. Look for moments where you can amplify what’s already good. Let laughter last longer than strictly necessary. Savor experiences instead of rushing through them. Notice the wealth of connection, creativity, and joy that’s available when you stop counting what you don’t have and start multiplying what you do.

Sometimes the most plentiful life is the one where you learn to be rich with presence, generous with attention, and abundant with appreciation for what’s already here. And that kind of wealth is available to everyone, regardless of what’s in their bank account.