Back to basics

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You know, sometimes we find things that work for us and then for some explicable reason, we stop doing it - even though it was working. What I think happens is that our habits are never far away from the surface and even after we have developed better strategies, over time our own complacency lets the roots of habit sprout again and creep in the door.

I was thinking about this lately in regards to a scarcity mindset. I have one.

After decades of not having enough that started in childhood, life taught me that I better eat while I can because tomorrow, the opportunity might be gone. This goes beyond delaying gratification as at times it feels more like doing what I must to survive and even though I logically know I will be okay and back my skills and brains to face whatever arrives, my head still says, there will never be enough.

I think the "never enough" attitude can be mistaken for greed, however I believe there is a difference in direction. While greed is always chasing more, I feel that I am trying to escape from not having enough. There is quite an attitude difference in those who are running toward their goals, and those who are running away from their fears.

I have plenty of fears.

I was talking to a friend last night who is to my knowledge, intelligent and well enough invested to have to worry and it got me thinking, What does that feel like? and then - Will I ever experience that feeling? Because even though I back my survival, I always sense those roots of emotional habit crawling in through the door.

I think this is part of the reason I am so invested in pretty much all ways into Steem as, while I would love for it to pay off financially, I feel like for the first time in my life I am running toward something, not away from it. For me, this is a value that perhaps not many people recognize as they focus on the earnings only, not the what is actually being built in order to get there. The investment into the future isn't just about the money because to get to that point, something has to be created.

I see that in the future, the mass migration onto the Steem blockchain isn't just going to be through the host of applications that are created to attract users, it will be the capabilities Steem offers established business models to improve their business strategies and compete in a more open market as it could them on a more even footing with the conglomerates.

It won't happen quickly, but bit by bit more channels of business will integrate and utilize the blockchains and as a result, new users will adopt it organically through interacting with the business layers. This will in turn drive more people to explore deeper and start investing into and developing their own experiences by offering their own skills and minds into the mix.

This is what I am running toward, even as I acknowledge that not far below the surface, there is a specter of fear that feeds off the uncertainty and doubt it creates.

What if I am wrong, what if this fails, what if I am a fool?

Questions of fear that look to gain traction by appealing to authority - the authority of ego. This is what my specter is looking to protect, itself.* It doesn't actually care about failure, it just doesn't want to look like an idiot in front of others. I wonder how many businesses were not started because someone didn't want to publicly fail? It is kind of interesting when on Steem we can see quite a lot of the decisions people make in regards to their businesses. And, if you are looking to earn from what you offer -it is a business.

Many run theirs into the ground.

Maybe they see their business as disposable, that what they put out into the world as something they throw away when it doesn't work, when it fails. For me, I own my business because what I offer is part of me, and even though it changes over time with experience of thought, it will forever be part of the chain of my life. Isn't it strange how many people are not willing to invest into their own life experience now even though they want return later?

Nothing lasts of course, but all things evolve because as is indicated, energy can't be created or destroyed, only transformed. I am looking to use all the stored energy of my fears as a resource and see what it can be transformed into. While scarcity may be one of the drivers, abundance could be the outcome.

You might be young, you might not care about your future because you have a mindset that life is lasting, there will always be time. There is not, it is fleeting and if one doesn't think about the evolution of the self over a lifetime, one can be stuck in an experience of immaturity, one of reliance on others to provide. Cattle class.

Maybe it is the position we take out of habit as after all, our first habits are created when we were children - many of them sick through a lifetime, no matter what we learn along the way.

Taraz
[ a Steem original ]



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28 comments
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Beautifully written. The fear of not having enough basically can drive greed or better yet drive the strive to possess more without greed as the endgame. Truth is I basically have that fear of not having much because Hf 21 is coming and the pessimism that comes with it makes me feel I need to have More, anyway it is, the intention is what differentiate greed and not having more for me. My opinion though.

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I think that HF21 might surprise some and be a letdown for others. At the end of the day, it will unlikely be earth shattering, however will hopefully change the economics enough that people are willing to think about how they steem.

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I think you are right as this place is evolving all the time. I don't recognise this place from when I first joined and it is all about being part of the journey. So much has happened in a short period of time and so much more needs to happen.I don't think you can never have enough as it is about securing your future.

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It moves much faster than it feels it moves and very fast considering a startup in many ways. Very slow also because no one can agree on anything. :D

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Better prepared for the possibility than the unlikely occuring and not being ready. I often think about it as well and have taking a staggered approach as it is too difficult to just prepare for need all at once. Instead, I take every opportunity I have to gradually prepare for the scenarios that could impact the family.

Posted using Partiko iOS

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I take every opportunity I have to gradually prepare for the scenarios that could impact the family.

I am doing more of this too, thinking wider than I have in the past and looking to diversify my energy. Best be prepared for success or failure.

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It takes a lot of work to break the habit of scarcity mindset. You have to be just as relentless at programming yourself for the opposite as the world continues to be at programming you for more of the same

Posted using Partiko iOS

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as the world continues to be at programming you for more of the same

A world that encourages and rewards mediocre and offers a safety net of support of average, doesn't inspire drive.

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I was wondering if you still maintain or use your stylish plugin that removed the payout from posts and comments, just a thought that came to me reading this.

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the plugin? You will have to jog my memory as it is much like a sieve at the best of times.

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You made a stylish plugin not long after you got here, it basically hid the payouts, I'm pretty sure it was you.

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Nah, must have been someone with coding skills. I do remember hearing something about it though. I don't use any plugins for steem other than keychain though so don't keep an eye out for them.

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Nevermind, it was @lukestokes not you

https://steemit.com/steemit/@lukestokes/the-steemit-usdusdusd-challenge-prove-to-yourself-why-you-are-her

I think I might have suggested it to you, it was around the time you joined though.

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Would be interesting to try, that post was about 6 months before me though.

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Fuck me, just let me fulfill my obsession with being right God damint, even if I'm wrong.

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You are right. I should let you fulfill your obsession, even if you are wrong.

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I'm not wrong about a lot of crap, but here you are trying to give me crap about a couple of things I might, maybe, possibly, be wrong not entirely right about.

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Great read. 40 now, time to get things in order.

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Would have been nice to have more understanding at 30.... :D

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Or 20. Could have been retiring this year :)

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(Edited)

10 years ago with 3 dollars in the right spot and a strong hand - and you could have retired 2 years ago with 6 million+ ;D

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I'm not going to hold that thought for more than....... and it's gone.

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I think childhood and memories have a lot to do with certain reactions. my father drew up in the depression, so he never wanted to waste anything. he would horde things beyond the point of usefulness, just in case he might need them. and even when he was moderately well off, he was always frugal - because of that memory of the depression when people struggled to find enough food to eat and things had to be fixed. buying something new was considered wasteful.

this is a habit that he passed on to me, so while i never wanted for the basics, I always saved my money for what if. and that has been the thing that has saved me in a time when jobs are no longer easy to find. to me its a smart mindset, as long as you aware of why you do it and dont beat yourself for it

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Yeah @torico. Being farsighted, careful & chary is fine. But then, never forget!! };)

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My father grew up much the same in Malaysia during WWII and lived his whole life being frugal. Part of the problem is that he never took the "extra" to invest in himself and I believe that cost him quite a lot. There is a time to save and, a time to spend.

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