Drop The Victim Mentality
People love to complain, feel helpless and just live in the victim mentality. It puts responsibility out of your own hands and leaves the world at fault. It is easy because you can go on telling yourself that there is nothing you can do about the situation. It is the easy way out. It is also addicting. If you are stuck in that mode of thinking for long enough, you will find yourself depressed with your life spiraling out of control.
It is understandable. Somewhat. Yea, the economy is tough, people do not have jobs, everybody is sad and depressed without any money. What is there to be happy about you ask?
EVERYTHING.
Here’s why! Right now is the best opportunity to appreciate everything that you have and give. Yes! Give! Give when you think that you do not have anything to give. However, understand that you always have something to give. Always! No matter what is going on, no matter how bad the economy is, you can always give something. You can always give your time and your energy to others! That’s right, your time and your energy.
Forget about giving money,things, or food – give yourself. It is the best kind of gift that you can give. You can accomplish that by volunteering!
I was siting at home and complaining that I cannot get a job and how I do not have anything to do and how my life sucks right now. Then, suddenly I realized:
- I do not have a job
- I have nothing to do
- I need experience
- I want to interact and meet others
Go Volunteer
There was only one option left for me. I had to go volunteer! Yes! It all of the sudden made so much sense! And I think that everybody who is unemployed, not sure what to do in life should get up and go volunteer! It is the best thing to do! When times are tough and gloomy go help others by giving yourself for free . There are so many benefits to volunteering:
- you get to help others
- you meet new people
- you gain experience
- you get involved
- you expose yourself to something new
- you spend time with purpose instead of wasting it at home
It is a bit selfish, but sometimes doing things for wrong reasons can lead to do things for the right reasons! So to all the people who sit at home and complain that they can do nothing about their lives, I have answer – go help others! This way you shift your focus from scarcity to abundance. Even when you think you have nothing else to give, give yourself! If you are serious and want to get started there are a couple of great places to do that:
There are opportunities for a variety of individuals with different sets of skills. Are you a recent college graduate, a high school graduate? Are an expert in finance, accounting, marketing, etc? There are opportunities for you.
For example, I am interested in financial planning. I went to those sites listed above and there are plenty of opportunities for financial planners. This way, I will not be wasting my time sitting at home, I will be able to go out and meet new people, I will gain experience in financial planning, I will do something to help others, I will make new connections. I choose life of abundance and leave the life of victim behind me.
There are reasons to only go out and volunteer TODAY! What are you waiting for? What is your excuse? Go out there and help others especially in such a time of need for everybody!
________
Image: Flickr
4 Comments
GREAT POST! The victim mentality is one that prevents people from reaching their full potential because they constantly tell themselves a story about why they are unable to BE, DO, and HAVE the life of their dreams. This becomes part of their daily routine, their existence, and even more detrimentally, their IDENTITY. They begin associating with what they do not have, as opposed to all of the wonderful things that have taken place in their lives. It is important to remember that when we point our finger at someone or something that is preventing us from TRULY living our lives, that there are three fingers pointing right back at us….
Dear Jared:
Unfortunately what you are saying is true for too many people out there. They indeed start to identify with their failures and instead of learning from they got lost in the pain caused by them accepting failure.
Once again it is up to people who are awake and aware to go out there and show others that a different way of living is possible!
Thanks for another inspiring post!
Best,
Tomas
Hey Tom,
Everyone can help others in some way. If you don’t have money and resources, give the ultimate resource – yourself. If anything, sometimes giving yourself is BETTER than simply handing out some money.
I feel you can give yourself in any method, not just volunteering. You can start a website and give your knowledge of something to others, for example (like this great site I heard of, Uncertain Change, written by a tall Lith guy).
I’m not discouraging volunteering in any way, of course. Just offering the idea that a person can give themselves in other ways too, if it suits their lifestyle and way of working better. Some might not think of it that way, but you really are giving your value and contribution to the world when writing your site.
And it can be combined with volunteering as well. Like, the experience and lessons you gain from volunteering you can pass along to others to benefit from on your site.
Looking forward to you sharing your experiences in financial planning volunteering,
Oleg
Hey Oleg:
Now that’s what I call a value adding comment :)
I never really thought about it that way, but you are right. Volunteering is just one way of giving. Actually, once you have mentioned it, you are constantly involved in giving in your life.
Sometimes we just don’t realize we are doing it. And maybe that’s how natural giving should be – just part of your daily life. Giving that creates value to others. Whether you receive a monetary reward does not really matter. There are plenty of other mediums through we which we can repay others.
That’s for providing a different perspective on the same idea :)
Best,
Tomas