Let Go of These Myths About Lack of Thinking
Much of the talk about productivity today is split into two camps: the first is made up of people like our tech overlords who keep preaching that when you wake up at 4 a.m., you spend more hours at work and fewer activities. others will make you a real professional. genius. The second is made up of those who, like most Lifehacker employees, say, “Hey, maybe we should take a step back and enjoy our lives before we all burn out . “
However, scarcity thinking is at the core of both of these factors. Human nature believes that we do not have enough time, money or resources to do and have everything that we possibly want. And in many ways this is true. There just isn’t enough time, money, that you have to be the best parent, worker, friend, pianist, marathon runner, foodie, investor, etc. at the same time. However, we keep pushing ourselves, rationalizing that harder work means we will get more and then we will finally be happy. Inevitably, we are still disappointed – we may have more, but we will never have “enough.”
This is all-pervading thinking. Khe Hee, creator of RadReads , writes (emphasis added):
The day begins with the words “I didn’t get enough sleep.” Then the urge to feed the children and walk out the door is accompanied by a nagging feeling that, as parents, we are “not sufficiently present.” Then I run down the road, browsing articles on phones and listening to podcasts at double speed. There is too much to learn and “not enough time.” The employee gets the coveted promotion, with the implication that there are “not enough opportunities.” Therefore, a new extension to the house will have to wait another year, because, obviously, “ there is always a lack of a house ”. And as bedtime approaches, there is a race to mailbox zero. And what do you think for the last time before you fall headlong on the pillow? “I haven’t done enough.”
But we can break the cycle and start thinking differently. High says that the destruction of the three myths about the scarcity mindset, described in detail in the book activist Lynne Twist “Soul of money” will help us to “move from deficit to sufficiency”. And doesn’t that sound better.
Myth 1. This is not enough
For many of us, Huy writes, the promotion of colleagues in the service means doom. This means that we must have screwed up somewhere, because there are no endless promotions.
“In [our] minds, the slightest mistake (such as a failed Powerpoint presentation) can spiral out of control and undermine [our] careers,” he writes. “And while waiting for this imaginary shoe to fall, [we] cannot enjoy [our] accomplishments, take risks and be present.”
But instead of seeing work and life as a winner-take-all, we better remember that this is a long game. We may not have received a promotion this month, but as long as we continue to do a good job, we will probably come out ahead.
“Situations can initially be perceived as zero-sum situations [but] they are actually win-win when you broaden your horizons,” he writes.
Myth 2: the more the better
Hee writes that it makes sense to always want more when we worry that someday it may not be enough. But constantly wanting more – more home, more car, more tech toys, more money, of course, etc. – can also lead to greed and a miserable life.
How can you convince yourself that you have enough, especially in a culture that values ”more, more, more”?
This is a common question in behavioral economics (we’ve already touched on a few topics here ). How much money does it take to make you happy? Do you really know? Huy writes:
Look at the study by Harvard Business School professor Michael Norton, who asked 2,000 millionaires two questions: How happy are you on a scale of 1 to 10? How much more money does it take to get 10 points? It turns out that “across the entire income spectrum, virtually everyone says they need two or three times as much [to be completely happy].” (Source: The Reason Many Superrich People Are Not Satisfied With Their Wealth )
Okay, obviously we could all have a few more dollars in our bank account. Financial stress is a major concern in the United States. But, Huy writes, instead of constantly focusing on “the more the better,” we’d better think about what actually benefits our lives. This is most likely not a 150 square foot house larger than your cousin’s.
Myth 3: this is how it should be
This last myth allows us to believe the first two. This is the way it is, there is no need to change anything or work on new habits. “It roots us in our spending habits and professional decisions and can leave us stumped and comfortably numb,” he writes.
What’s the solution here? There is no definite answer. It’s a shift in your thinking — you’re working to believe that it’s not really the way it should be. You don’t need 100 subscriptions to different types of media, you don’t need a new car when your used car is still running, you get a bonus next year if you work a little harder (or better yet, change jobs). Just because you are spending too much or not where you want to be professionally does not mean that you need to keep going down the same path. Enough for everyone.
“Accept, as [Lynn] Twist says, that you have the freedom to choose ‘how we choose to act and what we choose to do with circumstances,” Huy writes. “That’s enough for you. Enough for you.”