Mindshift: How Being A Steemian Is Helping Me Build An Abundance Mindset
Reading a recent post by @stellabelle (and the attendant reply by @the-alien) in which she subtly mentioned the scarcity mindset got me thinking "Maybe I'm affected too"
I've always heard about the scarcity / abundance mindset but really didn't pay any attention to it.
But as I made more and more research, I discovered that in a way, I've always been plagued by the scarcity mindset.
And I'm not at fault. I think.
It's been instilled in my sub-consciousness by the "traditional" educational system and the society as a whole.
You might be affected too.
And like me.
It's completely up to you to decide to grow your abundance mindset. And be successful and happy. Along with others.
Or wallow in your scarcity mindset. And end up being discontented, and distrustful of others.
Here's what the media, the corporate world and the society at large has made me grown up believing:
Be stingy with your knowledge and compassion.
In an ultra-competitive educational system, I've always been psychologically conditioned that it is he who hoards the most information wins prizes and scholarships. This happens even in offices with cutthroat competition. Success means beating someone else.
Being pessimistic about the future, believing that tough times are ahead
Thanks to the Media and its' paranoid "click-bait" style reporting.
Resent competition, believing it makes the pie smaller and them weaker.
Think small, avoid risk
But as I came upon the qualities of an abundance thinker, I couldn't help thinking how lucky I am to be on Steemit.
I've had discussions and read posts by several Steemians that embody these qualities. And some of them have inspired and pushed me to think big and embrace competition.
Popular writer, Micheal Hyatt gave some key characteristics of an abundance thinker.
They ask "How can I give more than is expected?"
They are happy to share their knowledge, contacts, and compassion with others
They welcome competition, believing it makes the pie bigger and them better
They are optimistic about the future, believing the best is yet to come.
They think big, embracing risk.
They default to trust and build rapport easily.
The Steemit project is, in fact, an embodiment of these qualities. An optimistic project aiming to change how the world views community interactions. A Social network 3.0.
It's heartening to see many Steemians give out their knowledge without inhibition.
And on occasions when posts have displayed fears about the pie getting bigger, esteemed steemians are quick to state reasons (supported by facts) on how it would make Steemit a better place.
"It's not a sprint, it's a long-term rewarding program.", they say.
I hope that the more I participate and engage with several Steemians, the better I become. I'm grateful for the opportunity of being alive.
William James said, “The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes of mind.” Let your mindset be your biggest asset!
Looking forward to reading from you.
H.T:
http://www.npr.org/2014/01/02/259082836/how-scarcity-mentaly-affects-our-thinking-behavior
http://michaelhyatt.com/two-types-of-thinkers-which-are-you.html
http://www.success.com/article/john-c-maxwell-6-tips-to-develop-and-model-an-abundance-mindset
https://www.powerofpositivity.com/10-signs-of-a-scarcity-mindset/
You had me at the words "abundance mindset." I was raised with a poverty mindset. My parents were wonderful and did the best they could, but they didn't see that they'd been infected with the poverty virus.
It's too bad that so much of mainstream-media, the education system and politicians have reinforced the poverty mindset millions already have. It would be great if they stopped worrying about who gets a slice of the "pie" and just focused on encouraging people to make MORE pies!
The mindset that one person has to lose in order for another to win has so many of us frantically racing to "get their piece" when all they'd have to do to "get a piece" is to learn to bake pies. That analogy works in almost any endeavor. Unfortunately, a lot of "rich vs poor" debates (including the #basicincome position) has far more to do with jealousy, poverty and scarcity mindsets than with the actual quantity of the resources in question.
Steemit, actually creating more "pies" and "pie bakers", is an innovative model for creating new REAL assets from pooled resources (computer bandwidth, content creation/curation/commenting, mining, etc...)! Now there can be more than enough "pie" for everyone who will contribute.
I completely agree with you. The #basicincome movement in a way help reinforce the mindset of feeling privileged even when you don't know how to bake pies.
You're extremely intuitive and insightful. What a deep thinker you are.
Your observations are correct: "Be stingy with your knowledge and compassion." and "But as I made more and more research, I discovered that in a way, I've always been plagued by the scarcity mindset. And I'm not at fault. I think."
I spent a lot of time with organic farmers. Farmers know the truth about the abundance of the natural world.
Man has built in scarcity into the fabric of our lives for one purpose only: to profit and extract as much wealth as possible from those beneath him.
You are also beginning to understand the fundamental underpinnings of the patriarchy. Patriarchies tend to be wealth extracting in nature, while matriarchies tend to stress sharing and cooperation more than anything else. Most people are not even aware of these differences. I've studied some matriarchies and they operate very differently.
Corporatism has exacerbated the problem even more.
It's easy to believe that there is something wrong with your thinking.........it is. You had a faulty program.
This program feeds on fear. I see this happening every day inside my brain. One moment I am operating on the FEAR program which goes like this: "I'm going broke. I should figure out a secure way to earn more money. I should go get a big corporate job."
Abundance thinking then takes over my brain: "I want to go on a world robot tour with my daughter in the future and write a book about it. I think this would be an amazing way to introduce my daughter to the future world she will inhabit. Plus, I could utilize all my skills of writing, documenting, and video making, thereby creating an adventure that might inspire other parents and their kids."
I vacillate between these every day.
You're doing great, by the way.
Thanks for taking the time to write this thorough reply. Your thoughts on patriarchies are right. As evident in my society. And thanks for the compliment. You know it means a lot to me.
I love this post.
Thanks, Ben.