Its both - but to escape a scarcity mindset, you need to step outside the perception surrounding you.

Being the first to try something new makes you a pioneer. But in a scare environment, if you fail (and you will encounter many failures), people who don't understand your efforts will judge you harshly. You will have little chances of bouncing back.

Those who've experienced similar struggles would likely encourage you to try again - but in a scarcity environment, it's lonely because there aren't many who have succeeded before. Only when you do succeed, it sets an example - and eventually people would start saying "hey if she or he made it, maybe we can too." And as more step up, more succeed, this gradual shift in perception, will attract the funds and infrastructure, and in the long run it becomes a flourishing ecosystem.

But it's a much longer and painful process to come up in life.

Another challenge of scarcity is limited exposure. When kids are really young, they are all enthusiastic and fearless, but as they get older, kids from scarcity environment become more insecure.

Oftentimes this is due to lack of exposure to diverse environments, and opportunities. Simple things like not having access to selecting what they want to wear will reduce their ability to identify their own taste and interest - and this can also expand into lifestyle, food etc. But they might also explore creativity with what they have, and pick up independence, determination, and learn diff traits.

More often than not, people prefer comfort and would not want to step out of the bubble. A lot of people would be ok having the exact same job for 40 - 50 years so long as they have a stable and safe life. 99% of people will not risk comfort and stability for upward mobility, and rather meet all the checklists that society expects them to meet, in order to fit in and be accepted within their community.

On the contrary, someone from an abundant background has many advantages, such as better infrastructure, mentorship, funding, education and how one is perceived and respected. This environment significantly increases the chances of success - and it becomes easier and faster to come up in life. They would also be more confident, determined, more focused in reaching their goals because they don't have many obstacles to overcome.

However some may not have the urgency or hunger to succeed as there is no dire need or passion, or that they know they can always bounce onto something else. Some might be overwhelmed by the expectation that everyone else assumes that they have life easy and that they will make it, ignoring the challenges that they do go through.

My dad would be an example of pulling us out of low class to middle class - he started off as a forklift driver but he did rent a home for us in a middle class environment to get a diff exposure. Every sunday we would take 3 buses to church in the capital city so that we would have a diff exposure. Every gift was often books. My older brother and sister would create all the toys from scratch or invent their own games. We grew up very poor but we were never lacking. My dad only did his bachelors in his 40s and when he died he had 2 doctorates. He also started a bible college, among many other things, to help a lot of poor people come up in life - those who were battling with alcohol, unable to hold on to jobs etc - to open up their mindset - and their kids are all thriving today. I don't think it was easy what he did with the background that he had to step out of the scarcity mindset but he was determined. I do wish I could ask him all the challenges he went through, now that I understand life a little bit better.

But again i think this is still a very broad conversation. There lies various socio influences, culture, gender, communities, health and diet, socio economic environments, politics, countries etc