“Don't give it to them!”
That's the advice I was given when a couple of colleagues asked for my customized presentation slides.
It was a few years ago. I was an instructor for a major organization which schedules seminars all across North America. Each course has a base slide template for the content. But each instructor can leverage their experience to customize the content and make it relatable to the course participants.
For my emotional intelligence seminar, I use many stories from my work experience as an engineer and a project manager to drive home many of the concepts. I also modified the slide deck accordingly.
At the beginning of the pandemic, we pivoted from in-person events to virtual environments. For these sessions, another instructor who teaches the same course is scheduled as a co-facilitator who is in the background most of the time. They're usually there for backup for when internet connection problems arise.
Over one two-week period, I had two different co-instructors. Each one (separately) loved the changes I've made to the slides, so after our session together, they asked if I could share my modified slide deck with them.
When I informed someone very close to me about the requests, I got the response I shared earlier.
"Don't give it to them!"
"Let them customize it their own way!"
But I saw no benefit in doing that. It cost me nothing to share my slides with them.
In fact, I was flattered that they saw something they wanted to emulate in how I modified the content. Afterall, it was Oscar Wilde who said, "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness." Not saying I'm great, but . . . 😀
That advice I received to not share my slides came from a scarcity mindset.
People with a scarcity mindset believe the pie is limited or fixed, so they want to keep as much of the pie as possible for themselves. That's why this mindset is also termed “fixed” as opposed to a “growth” mindset. To them, another's gain is their loss.
But this is hardly true. In fact, another's loss could end up being your loss too. That's because the scarcity mindset is not limited to material things. It permeates every aspect of our existence. I believe it's an extension of having a fixed mindset.
Known for her work on mindset, Carol Dweck, a Stanford University psychologist found out that children who have a growth mindset that intelligence can be developed are better able to overcome academic challenges than those who have a fixed mindset that intelligence is predetermined.
If you believe you're born dumb, and that there's nothing you can do about it, you won't try to learn. You'd believe the ability is beyond you. If you think you're powerless, you live subdued and subjugated. You fall apart with every challenge you face. You won't even try to work at overcoming them.
This mindset affects not only how we live personally, it’s also rampant within organizations.
Many people in the corporate world have been conditioned to have a scarcity mentality. This is the reason managers micromanage. It's why some hoard information. When these happen, an organization cannot achieve its stated goals.
How do you pivot from scarcity mindset to abundance mindset? Allow me to share three simple ways.
𝑭𝒐𝒄𝒖𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒕𝒔. Instead of the natural tendency many of us have to focus on what we lack, pay attention instead to what you do have. Take a look at your assets and think about how you can use them to your advantage. What strengths do you have? What experiences have shaped your life hitherto? How are your skills in one industry transferrable to another? In what ways can you use them for your benefit? Answering this questions focuses your attention on what you can do.
𝑷𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆. When you constantly pay attention to what you have, it helps you develop an attitude of gratitude. Much have been said and written about developing an attitude of gratitude, but it shouldn't stop there. We must cultivate the practice of gratitude. An attitude is a settled way of thinking or feeling about someone or something. Practice, on the other hand, is the actual application or use of an idea. One rarely used way you can practice gratitude is by always looking for the opportunity to express appreciation to someone for something. When you look for the good others do, you'll find them. Otherwise, you'll always find something to complain about.
𝑩𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆. Find people with an abundance mindset and spend time with them. We become like the people with whom we spend most of our time. A quote often attributed to Jim Rohn says "You’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with." In addition to this, another person whose research into social networks has shown that the influence doesn’t stop anywhere near your five closest friends. The research suggested that this influential circle includes people you haven’t even met yet - friends of your friends, and friends of the friends of your friends. Their influence wanes the further these friends are from you, but it's still there. Attitudes and mindsets are contagious. We catch them from those closest to us. Think and consider the mindset that's rubbing off on you from those with whom you're closest.
How will you begin a reset of your mindset towards abundance?
Tell me in the comments below. 👇