How a Poverty Mindset is Keeping You Stuck
The struggle is real out there. Student loan debt. Low-paying jobs. Stagnant minimum wages. Unemployment. Rising inflation. Automization. Deminishing labor industries. Housing damage and relocation due to climate change. Exorbitant health care costs.
There’s a lot of us living with less than we deserve.
If you’re not careful though, the poverty mindset will keep you with less. There’s a difference between living in poverty and having a poverty mindset. Poverty is your living conditions based on your income and lack of other assets. A poverty mindset is how you think about what you have and what you have access to or lack thereof. There are people who live in poverty with a growth mindset. They’ve either planned their way out or they have chosen poverty due to some altruistic value or temporary sacrifice for a long term gain. There’s also people who live in affluence who think what they have is never enough, and what they have can run out anytime. Their energy is focused on how to keep what they have, keep others from getting what they have, or taking what other people have. It’s called greed.
Business leaders, entrepreneur gurus, and multimillionaires will tell you that you don’t wake up one day living your dreams. It’s all about mindset. Your mindset can keep you stuck or catapult you forward. I don’t think people mean to choose limiting mindsets. The tricky thing about the poverty mindset, or other negative patterns of thinking, is that there’s a blindspot - there’s a very real situation mixed up with a false truth that’s keeping you stuck. So how can you be getting in your own way with a poverty mindset when it comes to your career? Here are some things I have heard and have either told myself:
“I just need a job”
Truth: I need a sustainable way to pay bills
Blindspot: The best job is going to be the one I get first, easiest, fastest, etc.
Freedom: I want the job with the best fit that will align with my long term goals
“This is what I’ve always done and it’s worked before”
Truth: I have a set routine for facing this situation that has worked in the past
Blindspot: This routine is the only thing I am capable of and it will have to work indefinitely for me to be successful
Freedom: There could be influences in this situation that are different than what I am aware of and it requires a new way of doing things to get better results
“This is my only option”
Truth: I do not see more than one solution to this problem
Blindspot: The only thing that will work is the thing that makes the most sense to me right now
Freedom: I can think creativity about what I am facing or invite others to help me see multiple options
“I can’t afford that”
Truth: I have limited funds or resources
Blindspot: Money and assets are indefinitely restricted to me
Freedom: I can assess how I am spending my money and make incremental changes or investments, or I can connect with someone that has the resources I need.
Shifting from a poverty mindset to a mindset of freedom and abundance is easier said than done. It will take some awareness of what you’re telling yourself about your future. Then, you will need to change your behavior. First, try this reflection activity to become more aware. Think about the last three opportunities that you wanted to accomplish or pursue, but ultimately didn’t work out. Write down the thoughts you had about the opportunities. Circle, underline, or highlight the ultimate thought as to why you did not do it. Most likely, those thoughts are feeding the poverty mindset keeping you stuck.
Don’t dismay! You can break the cycle! Here’s how to get out of a poverty mindset:
Re-write the narrative
If you’ve been telling yourself you’ll never be able to save this amount of money or you don’t have enough experience to apply for that dream job, then switch it up! Make a conscious effort to tell yourself the opposite of whatever you’ve been saying. WRITE IT DOWN. I like affirmations that I read every morning before work and during the evening when I get home. You can also try scriptures or quotes. Just make sure it’s visual, and you make a proactive effort to read it everyday. When you catch yourself repeated the poverty mindset narrative, then switch to the new one, STAT!
Change your surroundings
You have to see different to know different. Put yourself in a new environment or expose yourself to the community you want to be around. If you can’t go to it physically just yet then read about it. Seek ways to connect with people who have achieved what it is you want to do, and ask how of they accomplished them. Anytime someone invites you to go someplace new, go!
Try something different
Break out of the monotony. It’s not enough just to see it, you have to actually do the things you see are different then how you might have initially handled it. This can even be as simple as where you go for lunch or the brand you buy when you need to replace something. Experiencing new things will give you fresh perspectives and ideas. It will break down your resistance to change.
Break things down into steps
Too much change can be overwhelming. Many of us arel uncomfortable being out of our comfort zone. Write down the steps you need to take, and pick the one you can do first. Only focus on that one. Then move onto the next thing. Step by step. Day by day. Deposit by deposit. Class by class. Chapter by chapter.
Do it afraid
There’s no perfect moment. There’s no perfect time. You may never be ready. Go for it now! Start it now! The thoughts you were telling yourself with your poverty mindset will look more and more like lies the closer you get to your goal. Don’t expect your feelings to precede or even catch up to what needs to be done. Remember imposter syndrome? You can accomplish great things and still not feel deserving. But you sooo are! Your feelings might deceive you, but actions don’t lie! Do it! Right now! Move!
You don’t have to be a slave to a poverty mindset. You can break free. Once you get a handle on the thoughts that are keeping you tripped up, then you can do something differently. You’ll be making it rain in no time and walking into that life you deserve.