Wrapping up 2022 - How My Workload Gave Me Insight into Changing a Scarcity Mindset into a Growth Mindset

Dec 29

I've been working a lot.

Don’t mistake this admission for a #humblebrag. I mean it to be self-criticizing. It was never my goal as a freelancer to be working on so many projects I had no time to enjoy the flexibility and creative space I originally set out for. And while the consequences weren’t ideal, the work has been… great.

I've talked about my burnout story before, though, I’m realizing now I haven’t transferred that over to this blog. (Here’s where it started) I began talking about burnout when I left my corporate job in 2018, and I’ll continue to bring it up because its existence and the recovery since have changed my life in significant ways. Among them the way I viewed work as a “job”, how I understood my creative pursuits, and what I actually wanted to accomplish. Years away now from the day the first edges began to fray, I'm able to see the perfect storm that created the fire.

A few perfect storm ingredients: my age (early 30s, still very much reeling from my return of Saturn), the time I’d been working in the same place (almost 11 years by the end of it), social trends - like the throwing around of the word “intention” and the naïve realization that a company’s values do not always equal their ethics. These were not things experienced or observed at any one particular job but stemmed from interactions I'd had at all of my previous jobs, from the movie theater exploiting teenage workers to the retail shop pushing high APY credit cards on qualified, but not necessarily educated, customers. How anyone remains out of the cycle of cynicism, I truly do not know.

Unlike my first experience with burnout, when I was already in the thick of it, I’m not burned out yet, I’m simply headed down a familiar road. Instead of taking on work that wasn’t fulfilling, trying to meet impossible deadlines, and still operating in the corporate blaming project post-mortems, now I’m enjoying the work, but I haven’t set the boundaries I needed to at the beginning. When you first start freelancing, it’s very easy to get trapped into proving yourself to every new client or every new project. Four years and many clients later, I’ve been able to relax into my expertise, but because I haven’t been treating myself, a freelance writer and creative director, as a business - I found I’m still hanging on to a scarcity mindset that isn’t helping anyone.

One of my go-to sources for insight into habits, productivity, and performance is James Clear, author of “Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones.” According to Clear, a scarcity mindset is characterized by a belief that resources are limited and hard to come by. This mindset can lead to an unhealthy focus on competition, fear of failure, and an emphasis on short-term gains rather than long-term growth. Alternatively, a growth mindset is characterized by a belief that abilities and opportunities can be developed and expanded. Clear argues adopting a growth mindset can lead to greater success and well-being in the long term, as it allows individuals to embrace challenges and setbacks as opportunities for learning and growth rather than as failures.

Back in November, Wit & Delight sent out a monthly newsletter and owner/writer Kate Arends wrote about the theme of the month being about “building—and maintaining—a sense of focus.” I subscribe to a lot of newsletters, and because I’m out here working on my growth mindset, some I skim and some I’m able to read all the way through and for whatever reason, this theme stuck with me. Arends continues, “It’s about giving our energy to the things we actively choose and letting go of the things we don’t. It’s about deciding on the nonnegotiable elements of our lives that allow us to function at our best and figuring out how to commit to them with renewed attention.”

Clearly, the idea of actively choosing and letting go of things struck a chord at a moment I was prepared to hear it. There is so much talk and imagery around the idea of self-care, burnout, and our frustrations vs. institutional shittiness. We're bombarded with it. And just like we all come at our lives in different ways, we come at our careers and choices from sometimes inexplicable directions, and it can be difficult to imagine other paths as fair, as justified, or as making any kind of sense.

As part of my self-directed burnout recovery, I realized there's not always an obvious endpoint. You determine what works as self-care for you, and what doesn't. You determine how much you work and if that work has value to you or if you're just having fun being busy, and who you are and what your life looks like outside of your work all has an impact on that. It all makes sense, but putting it all into practice is the real work.

What’s great about this time of year, is that so many people consider it an opportune time to start over. If something hasn’t worked right for you in the past twelve months, there’s nothing like a new year to start fresh with new momentum. Last year, there were three main areas I wanted to focus on that weren’t really working out for me in 2021. I wanted to get back into the habit of fitness and increasing strength; I wanted to get better at managing my finances, and I wanted to cook more. So, those are nice, but I didn’t do any prep work. I didn’t set goals, so I have nothing to truly measure my success in those areas but a feeling. Did I fail at them? No! Could they have gone better? Of course.

By the end of the year, I’ve done enough self-reflection to realize how much my working life still affects my personal life, and vice-versa. I work from my home office now, so I can’t escape personal drama. When something is bothering me, it’s not as easy to compartmentalize and join Zoom calls like I’m not about to lose it. I read some books and listened to podcasts even when I thought they might too out there for me. I realize, as I do every day, that not all people represent all people.

Earlier this week, Ann Patchett shared a thought Chelsea Handler had about gratitude:

I’d heard people banging on about gratitude for a long time, and it usually just annoyed me. Then someone told me that you can actively shift your energy by writing down everything that you’re grateful for. So, a few months ago, I started writing down 20 things I’m grateful for every morning. I can’t describe to you what a difference it makes. You are on a higher vibration and frequency when you wake up and start counting all the things that you’re happy about.

What I think Ann took from this, and what I took from it as well, is that sometimes you have to do the thing that feels silly. If your goal is to get from Point A to Point B, but you have to stop along the way to have dinner with a family of hobbits back in the shire, then try it. It’s not risky (save potential ring drama), and you may feel awkward, but it may also provide you sustenance for the journey ahead. I haven’t figured out actionable goals for 2023 yet, but I know moving from a scarcity mindset to a growth mindset is a broad one. It will involve shifting beliefs about my abilities and the resources available to me. Here are a few strategies I’m hoping will make the shift a little easier.

01. RECOGNIZE WHEN YOU ARE OPERATING FROM A SCARCITY MINDSET.
Pay attention to your thoughts and beliefs about your abilities, resources, and opportunities. Do you tend to focus on competition, fear of failure, or the limitations of your situation? Check, check, check.

02. PRACTICE GRATITUDE.
Focusing on what you do have, rather than what you don't have, can help shift your perspective from scarcity to abundance.

03. SEEK OUT LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES.
A growth mindset is characterized by a focus on learning and development. Seek opportunities to learn new skills, explore new ideas, and challenge yourself.

04. REFRAME SETBACKS AS OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH.
Instead of viewing setbacks as failures, try to see them as opportunities to learn and grow.

05. SURROUND YOURSELF WITH PEOPLE WHO HAVE A GROWTH MINDSET.
The people you spend time with can have a big impact on your mindset. Surround yourself with people who are curious, open to learning, and supportive of your growth. Should we make t-shirts?

Shifting your mindset is a process that takes time and effort. It may not happen overnight, which is why it’s a broad goal and not one with a deadline, but with practice and persistence, adopting a growth-oriented perspective should be a process that makes your process, easier.