Getting Rid of the Victim Mentality
Summary: Today we’re joined by Wes Chapman, founder of A Human Project. Wes shares his story and tells us how getting rid of the victim mentality can bring us greater success.<br> Wes is the founder of <a href="https://www.ahumanproject.com/">A Human Project</a>, an organization that incubates creative, scalable solutions to systemic problems and gathers together the greatest minds to solve global issues in education, health, and society.<a href="https://www.ahumanproject.com/about/?gclid=Cj0KCQiA_5_QBRC9ARIsADVww17xXLkOovNEeOD1VW9f9qR1IUVsu-Uzn5m6H5g5YLWRQjiMI3PTyjkaAvj4EALw_wcB#02"></a><br> With a background in technology, design, and entrepreneurship, Wes has worked with clients like Verizon, Microsoft, A&E and has been the recipient of multiple “App of the Year” awards from Apple.<br> Wes is also co-creator of <a href="http://www.thehumangathering.com/">The Human Gathering</a>, named “The #1 Leadership Conference” by Forbes, which brings together leaders in business, technology, philanthropy and the arts.<br> Social Media: Good or Bad?<br> Social media is a daily part of life for most of us but is it a good thing or a bad thing? Like a lot of things in life, social media is a tool that can be used well or used poorly.<br> Social media lets us stay in touch with family and friends who don’t live near us, we can use it to buy and sell things, we can use it as a news source (this can be good or bad), or to find out about events in our local community.<br> We can also use it to compare ourselves and out achievements unfavorably to other’s; we can use it to diagnose ourselves with diseases and conditions we don’t have, and we can use it to stir up drama and attention for ourselves.<br> Maybe most damaging, we can let social media feed a victim mentality. We all know people who do this. They post their woe is my tale, a bunch of people gives them attention and they continue to do it. It doesn’t work forever. Eventually, even the most dedicated friends get fed up, but while it works, it works well as a source of attention.<br> What is a Victim Mentality?<br> A victim mentality is,<br> “An acquired personality trait in which a person tends to recognize themselves as a victim of the negative actions of others, and to behave as if this were the case in the face of clear evidence of such circumstances.”<br> Wikipedia<br> In simpler terms, a victim mentality is using the things that have happened to you as an excuse not to do the things you could or should do. I can’t do X because Y happened to me. Bad things happen to everyone, and some of them are horrific. But you can use those bad things to grow yourself or to stop yourself.<br> <br> Money and the Victim Mentality<br> The victim mentality is a really comforting place to dwell. You are not responsible for the things that have gone wrong in your life. You’re powerless; things happen that are beyond your control. Nothing is your fault. Being blameless is pretty nice. The problem is, thinking that way changes nothing. The bad things keep happening, and you do nothing to change them.<br> This mindset can be especially powerful when it comes to money. It’s not your fault you have credit card debt; your parents never taught you about money. It’s not your fault you can’t pay off your student loans; your cheap boss doesn’t pay you what you’re worth. It’s not your fault you had to declare bankruptcy, and the bank should never have loaned you more money for a house than you could afford to pay back.<br> You should have started <a href="https://www.listenmoneymatters.com/4-rule/">saving for retirement</a> sooner; it’s too late now so you may as well forget about it.<br> Breaking Out of the Victim Mentality<br> Leaving the victim mentality behind is scary. You will lose attention and validation; you will have to take risks, you will have to make changes,
