Tag: scarcity

Our Willpower Is Limited, Best To Not Push It (Thoughts on Feb. 2016)

Post author By jrlsage
Post date February 29, 2016

Intentional Scarcity is Difficult

The biggest thing I realized this month is that saying no, even when you want to, is hard. Saying no when you don’t want to is almost impossible, unless there are the right conditions. We have limited willpower and we often underestimate the limit we have. Also, each option and decision we have saps the supply of willpower. So, it is incredibly important to pick your spots because unless you don’t have a choice, you will fail if you try to change too much at once. If you do fail, its important to manage the failure, understand what happened, and move forward.

I also learned that starting with nothing is best. The more tools you buy, the more monumental the task becomes. Even buying something like running shoes adds expectations to the task. That expectation adds pressure, and unless you are directing that pressure (accountability practices) you want to avoid as much of it as possible. So, keep things simple, especially when you want to start something drastically different. If you want to write, just start a Tumblr or WordPress. If you want to do videos, just shoot them on your camera and upload them to YouTube. Start working out with just one push-up. By being intentionally scarce you remove pressure and increase the chance that you will follow through.

Biggest Lesson – Saying no is extremely difficult when your willpower is low, so pick your targets and take away options when you can.

My Correct Assumptions

There is a cap on Willpower

My Incorrect Assumptions

Defaulting to abundance with free time, I default to nothing, and that is helpful.
I should start a new habit by buying things first.

Important Posts

Videos

Books

Tags 2016, assumptions, February, intentional scarcity, month, monththeme, outro, scarcity, will power, willpower

Blog Post

Avoiding What I “Deserve”

Post author By jrlsage
Post date February 23, 2016

I keep a list of words to not use

There are a few words and phrases I am not fond of. I don’t like them because I find that the act of using them changes my mindset, allowing me excuses instead of investigation. I’ve struggled with this internal fight, dealing with words that stir my ego into protecting itself.

I try to understand these words and make an effort not to use them by putting them on a mental list (one I should admittedly write down) while I use the blog to work out why I don’t use them.Lately, I have thought about the word “deserve,” and how it feeds my ego and keeps me blind to possibility.

I deserve…

Ego – When I say the word “deserve,” I turn whatever conversation we are having into a conversation about me. I turn the discussion into a projection into what I want and instead of compromise, this now turns into a war*. Instead of a listening mindset, I am now working with a wanting mindset.
Blind – The wanting mindset gets me focused on one thing, “what I deserve.” I turn off my awareness and now I “lock in,” thinking about things that are completely abstract, such as what I’ve “earned” and missing out on what is in front of me.

Excuse words get you no where

I realize that “deserve” is an “excuse word,” or rhetorical device I’ve made to get out of dealing with the real underlying issues I have at the time. They keep me in the “yes” space, a place where I live on unintentional scarcity. Scarcity puts me in the mindset of taking what I see instead of learning what I need.

*In my experience this is not the same as boundary setting. When I say deserve in a conversation I have already missed the boat with establishing what I need. I more than likely went into that conversation unprepared and scrambling for something

Tags aware, awareness, deserve, Excuses, Focus, mindset, obvious, scarcity, self-awareness

Blog Post

Scarcity is comfortable, thats why we choose it.

Post author By jrlsage
Post date January 14, 2016

This is a hard pill to swallow

We grew up being told one day we could all “be president” but as soon as that speech was over, given reminders to get “realistic”.

What the term “realistic” hides is scarcity. Scarcity is telling us not to reach so far, not to stand out, not to make too much of a ruckus.

I hate it, and I feel we kill our inner self every time we use it. The question is why do we do it? I think we do it because its comfortable, we decide to live with the “get realistic” ideals of scarcity because its easier to keep yourself trapped then to risk your ego by going out on your own.

The reason I hate it so much is because I am as guilty of it as anyone I know.

Abundance vs scarcity

When we are younger, we learn to hold on to what we have. It isn’t a problem to keep a hold of something. In fact, it’s seen at as a way to win through life. Keep your head down, keep what you have, when its safe, get more.

That’s scarcity.

Taking the next step, trusting your skill, knowing the world has more. Learning to get involved, to count, to matter.

That’s Abundance.

Failure comes in both directions, but you have to ask yourself, which failure sounds more interesting?

But we are comfortable with scarcity

We begin to blame everything and everyone for that fear, but truthfully, its our own demons. Our communities are comfortable with the idea, so saying things like “it pays the bills” or “its a job” makes perfect sense to people.

But, greatness, and understanding scratches that itch. That doesn’t come with being safe. We have to try for more, get uncomfortable with it.

Tags abundance, fear, learning, scarcity, sleep, Understanding, work

Blog Post

Stress,Scarcity and Performing Comedy

Post author By jrlsage
Post date August 16, 2015
No Comments on Stress,Scarcity and Performing Comedy

Kelly McGonigal speaking @ the 99U Conference. I was there 🙂 Check out my followup here.

Last night I got the chance to perform with two great comedians – Liz Miele and Alonzo Bodden at Carolines on Broadway.

I have had some trouble lately with comedy. It started to feel routine and so did everything around it. Doing the same places and being around the same people got annoying. Last night was the first time in a while I got a chance to have a test. Well, I built it up like a test and gave myself parameters to designate success. I knew I got in front of two more experienced comedians and could get frank and honest feedback. Although I done shows with both several times, I made this a huge test. I turned on the scarcity and I tunneled.

2 lessons from that experience.

Stress – The buildup can turn you on or off. The mindset matters. As I turned this into a test,my anxiety went through the roof. I didn’t eat much. This only hampered me. As the show got closer, I started to remember some of the tips I picked up reading The Upside of Stress (highly recommended). It didn’t happen fully, but I was able to turn most of that fear into excitement. I realized that I felt alive as opposed to bored.

Tunneling – I went there and performed. Took no chances and got the jokes going. Got off stage and when asking for feedback, instead of the good job I expected, I got a reminder that showing proficiency is not enough. A professional, has to commit and be open to failure. You never know you have wings until you take that leap. It stopped me in my tracks and it served as a strong wake up call. I needed to hear that. By focusing so much on perfecting what I said and did, I left the humanity out of the art. I didn’t take the chance to grow.

Growth doesn’t happen in a straight line, it ebbs and flows. You have to risk the leap. Also, don’t buildup to failure, see the buildup and the stress as a tool. By getting in front stress isn’t a price, but a benefit.

Tags scarcity, stress, tunneling