Scarcity Mindset and Ceding Control of Career

Imagine you are single and looking for a partner - someone you’ll spend a lot of time with and who will play a big role in your life. Would you let that decision be made by ‘whoever is willing to have you’? It is probably fair to assume the answer is no, Afterall everybody loves autonomy - the ability to make their own choices and decisions. Plus, the choice of a partner is probably a critical one and has a large impact on the quality of life.

And yet, when it comes to our career we let the ‘market’ shape the trajectory and direction of it. Although it can be argued that the choice of the type of work, or the places we work at have an equally profound impact on the quality of life. In essence, we ‘cede control’ of our journey to forces external to us - which is weird since we love to be ‘in control’.

This behavior is slightly surprising but perhaps can be explained in the context of ‘scarcity mindset’ in certain cultures. For some of us, who grew up in cultures which have intense competition or a large population vying for a small portion of ‘tickets to prosperity’ - we are conditioned to think in terms of ‘scarcity’. Therefore, our instinctive response to an opportunity presented to us is to grab it and minimize the risk of losing it. However when it comes to career design - this same behavior sometimes proves counter productive as it leads us to grab the ‘first opportunity’ that comes our way during recruiting or changing jobs. This reflexive action thus takes us away from patiently searching and locking an opportunity that is a good ‘person-market’ fit and rather sends us spiraling down a circular loop of potential dissatisfaction.

The other impact of this ‘scarcity’ mindset is in how we avoid confrontation, asking for fair progression and rewards once we secure the job. Time and again, we see immensely talented people stuck in their trajectory because there is an intrinsic fear of ‘shaking things’ up by asking for a raise, promotion or a role that you really think is ideal for you. Looking from outside, this fear mostly stems from the conditioning that there is such an intense competition that if you are too demanding - somebody else is at the door to replace you.

Lastly, this all needs to be understood in the context of the hierarchy of needs. If we are in the zone where our basic needs of ‘food, shelter and clothing’ are endangered - the scarcity mode will stick and behold us from truly caring about the ‘person-market’ fit. But for many of us, that is not the case. We have worked, gained experience, and qualifications to create a stream of livelihood income for ourselves. It is rather the conditioning of ‘scarcity’ that however still persists. We chase the slight increase in paycheck, or a title because it helps us feel more ‘reassured’ - a bit like serial dating.

The world has evolved very rapidly in the last 2 decades. 20 years ago - a degree, progressive promotions and a tenured career was perhaps the best route out of ‘scarcity’. But in the internet era - the cone of opportunity is way more broader. It presents probably the best opportunity in a long time to really take something we cherish and are good at - and find ways to create streams of income around that for livelihood and beyond. A bit like startups - we can take one niche audience and find a way to repeatedly add value using our capabilities and talents. And once we have this locked in - we can scale, expand and truly unlock the flywheel of growth. That is the magic of ‘person-market’ fit but first we need to confront our ‘scarcity’ mindset.