A Mindset of Scarcity

Yesterday I found myself in a car for two hours and seized the opportunity to listen to an audio version of Brene Brown's The Power of Vulnerability: Teachings on Authenticity, Connection and Courage.

In the first 30 minutes or so, Brown explains that we live in an age of perceived scarcity. From the moment we wake up ("I didn't get enough sleep!") to the moment our head hits the pillow ("I didn't get enough done!") we have grown to adopt a mindset that we aren't enough or haven't done enough.

The same is true for my students.

But as Brown explains, the solution to the scarcity mindset is not abundance. Instead, it's the opposite...

For my students, I believe it's about being present. About finding joy. About reading for pleasure. Finding things to be interested in. 

In short, as Cathy Vatterott noted in a recent Educational Leadership article entitled "The Teens Are Not Alright," teens need, more than anything, "Time to just be teens."

This week and next my students are working together to turn their research on independent World Congress topics into collaborative speeches. The World Congress Symposium takes place in another twelve days and their task is a big one. But it's a task that is so similar to the projects they will undertake when they are older. Whether in high school, college, or their careers after graduation, they will be parts of teams and they will need to incorporate their skill sets into the complex chemistry of the groups of which they are a part. They will have deadlines and they will need to manage their time. 

But they won't be required to be on task 100% of the time. Their energy will ebb and flow. They will need comic relief. They will need breaks. They will need to be doing things for pleasure outside of the workplace, pursuing their interests, finding pleasure and joy, and connecting with other humans.

So as I watch my students working hard, I am not so myopic to think that they need to be on task all the time. What I can do for them, though, is name and affirm these strengths when I see them. I can ask them questions based on how I perceive and observe their energy.

"I notice how much you value humor...that's such an important part of who you are."

or

"You seem so genuinely excited about timing your speech...that's a really cool thing. What do you think it is about revising and rehearsing that you enjoy so much?"

or 

"So when do you think your group will need a study break? Let's look at the clock and be realistic about how much you can get done before you reward yourselves with a few minutes of down time."

By discussing time and the ways that energy shifts in a group, I hope I can help them gradually shift their awareness of the scarcity mindset. Maybe I can help them hold their perfectionism more loosely, and relax in the midst of their excessive workloads (whether perceived or real). 

I think teens can be reflective in the midst of being teens. Sometimes they just need a gentle nudge to believe there's enough time for it.