Want Your Work to Have Greater Impact in the World? Break Through These 6 Mindset Barriers.
Here’s a simple truth: we all want our work to impact the world.
This is especially true if you work in international development, economic and social development, or cause-oriented industries because you’ve dedicated your life to helping others. You want your efforts to mean something. You want to change the lives of those you’re working to help. And you want to see results. Soon. Tomorrow would be great. You want the feeling of progress.
But how can you do that? How can you have a greater impact?
Look around you for tips on how to do it better, and the answer to increasing your impact is always the same. Work harder. Work longer days, grueling hours. Embrace the “hustle culture.”
The idea of hustling your way to success has become a permanent fixture of advice we see online. It’s driven by boisterous keynote speakers and online gurus. They shout it from the rooftops, encouraging workers of all shapes and sizes to trade their life for more and more work.
Work harder. Achieve results. It’s a deceptive formula that, on the surface, sounds like it should lead to meaningful change. You should see an exponential impact from those 3am working sessions, right?
But how often does that actually happen?
Instead, you’re left tired. Frustrated.
Depleted.
Not to mention you keep being asked to do more with less.
Mindset matters.
You see, the problem with placing your hope in “hustle culture” is that it completely bypasses the most important aspect of change. Mindset.
Before you see real impact, you have to know and appreciate your work at a deeper level. You have to approach work with spirit and motivation and passion.
We’ve all had those moments of brilliance. When the stars align. When work becomes simple, flowing from our fingertips. When we’re surging towards something that matters.
But why isn’t this the case all the time?
In order to understand mindset, we have to also understand that there are mindset barriers that get in the way of our best work. Carryovers from our growth as human beings. Predictable, but hidden responses to the world around us.
And these barriers can completely derail your efforts.
One of the most insidious barriers is fear. Specifically, fear that you won’t have enough. Fear that the well will run dry. Fear that you’ll wake up one day empty. Destitute. That you won’t be able to provide for yourself or your family.
And that fear drives counterproductive behavior.
Let’s take a look at 6 short examples.
Barrier #1 – I don’t talk nice to myself
The inner critic judging you all day.
Negative self-talk is so common in our society today, that it’s essentially the default. We allow our internal fears to manifest into ongoing criticism. We’re harsh. Demanding. Cruel in a way we would never be with others.
And we convince ourselves this negative self-talk is in service to a higher goal. That it’s driving us forward, pushing us to achieve. How can we overcome the fear of scarcity if we constantly settle in our work and personal life?
But consider some of the side effects of negative self-talk:
A deep sense of guilt
Never feeling like our work is good enough
Torn between work and family
Anxious, depressed
Barrier #2 – I’m a people pleaser
Putting the needs and wants of others before our own.
People pleasing is a direct extension of fear. We worry so much that others will have a negative impact on our livelihood—lost funding, for example—that we go above and beyond to give them what they want.
But often this comes at the expense of what we need.
Maybe it’s a project that needs more resources to be done right. Maybe it’s a demanding donor or employee that’s pulling you away from your family. Maybe it’s the nagging feeling that you never have enough for yourself. Maybe you need your colleagues onside so you can mainstream your agenda?
These are common situations for people pleasers:
Committing to projects with unreasonable timelines
Working with a “shoestring” budget
Over-giving in your work
Working until you start to feel angry and resentful
Being afraid to speak up because you’re afraid to get colleagues “offside”
Compromising your values and the quality of your work
Barrier #3 – I have a hard time saying “no”
A lack of boundaries.
Saying “no” is one of the most dangerous things you can do if you have a fear of scarcity. Saying no could close an important door. It could anger a potential funding source or donor organization. It could lead to alienation, loss of reputation and not getting additional work.
So you don’t say no. You allow others to dictate your life. And, in many cases, any sense of healthy boundaries evaporates. You’re left running around from task to task, doing what others want, rather than what you need to move your social impact work or business forward.
It might look like this:
Allowing project scope to change last minute
Taking on more work than you can handle
Thinking no new funding will arrive
Taking on projects that don’t align with your values
Compromising your values and what’s important to you
Barrier #4 – I must stay busy all the time
There’s a direct link in our minds between safety and output.
If we just work hard enough, our safety will be assured. If we just throw additional hours into our work, it’s guaranteed to succeed. Right?
There are so many parts of our society that feed into an output-oriented mindset. “Hustle culture” lives and breathes output. But so too do our schooling systems, athletics, climbing the career ladder, and so many other parts of our daily life.
We’re conditioned to push and push. Until we break.
Overwork often has these characteristics:
Filling your calendar with busy work
Never having time to stop and reflect
Having nothing left at the end of the day to give to your family
Feeling guilty when there’s a moment of peace
Taking on too many projects at one time
Barrier #5 – I shouldn’t ask for help
Asking for help might be seen as a sign of weakness.
And when fear is driving the bus, showing weakness can feel vulnerable. Dangerous. Like exposing your underbelly to an enemy. What if the person you’re asking for help thinks you’re a failure? What if they can’t be trusted? What if you could just do it better on your own? After all you’re supposed to be the “expert” right?
There’s this myth of the “self-made person” and of “the expert” in our society. And it’s a toxic one. It feeds the idea that working with others—asking for their assistance—somehow waters down the accomplishment. That you can only ever succeed if you climbed the mountain on your own, if you’re the expert that has all the answers.
It looks a bit like this:
Taking on more work than you can reasonably do
Trying to do everything yourself
Micromanaging instead of leading
Not trusting your team
Imposter syndrome and feeling like you always need to have all the answers
Barrier #6 – I’m responsible for others
Shouldering the outcome for clients or employees.
I have a client who was managing an underperforming employee. The client knew the employee was failing to deliver, but didn’t want to fire him. He felt responsible for the employee’s livelihood and family. If he fired the employee, wasn’t he the cause of pain?
So, he spent months and months working on development. He offered to pay for courses for the employee. His time and energy were sucked away and put into this employee.
And you know what? The employee never showed any interest in improving. It wasn’t a good fit, and the employee didn’t want to be there in the first place.
But my client couldn’t bring himself to cut the cord.
Taking on too much responsibility for others can look like this:
Over-giving of your time and resources
Losing sight of the needs of the project
Focusing on outcomes, rather than inputs
Feeling exhausted and resentful
Feeling like you’re never doing enough or having enough impact
Are you tired of feeling tired all the time?
You’ve tried the hustle thing. You’ve spent years in the system of overwork. And all it has led to is a feeling of depletion and stress. You feel tired all the time.
It may be time to reimagine your resources.
The good news is this. These habits are easier than you think to break if you know what to look for. And I’d love to help you.
Over the next few months, I’ll be expanding the tools available through Resources Reimagined. I’m compressing years of experience working with some of the most under-resourced communities all across the world into an actionable set of mindset tactics for those working in international development and cause-oriented industries.
Tools I share with my private clients.
But, through Resources Reimagined, I want to make them available to everyone. So, coming soon, I’ll be putting out free guides and exercise documents that are all about mindset. I’m also developing a 5-day challenge designed to give you a jumpstart in your mindset journey.
If you’re interested in hearing more about how you can reimagine your resources, how you can overcome these 6 mindset barriers, and so much more, please head over to our Early Launch page to register.
I look forward to talking with you soon.
-Kate