The human brain is amazing to behold. It is both pre-wired and programmable. We do so much on autopilot but can interrupt those patterns and create new ones with awareness and practice. It holds strongly held beliefs yet can adjust or shift with intention.
There is not much that is set in stone when it comes to who we are and how we show up in the world. We may feel solid in who we are and what we think and do. Yet the beauty in being human is that we can evolve using our minds.
Mindset is key to so much of our growth. Whether it’s deciding that we want to make a change, getting started, or recommitting to the work each time we’re tempted to go back to status quo.
I’ve written frequently about an abundance mindset. That when we focus on scarcity – or what we lack – it keeps us small. Instead, by shifting to an abundance mindset – that what is meant for us is available to us – we can achieve or become that which we aspire to.
Recently, that strongly held premise was shaken. I found myself with abundance all right…and it was leaving room for doubt and fear. There’s one occasion when scarcity can be our best ally to move forward when our minds are working against us.
Scarcity of time.
An abundance of time…
I’m in the middle of my third coaching program. I absolutely love learning and take something from each one. With this latest one, I’m finally committing to getting my International Coaching Federation (ICF) certification. I’m in an 18-month program with International Coach Academy (ICA) to get the missing components that my other programs lacked to finally get certified.
Lots of acronyms, I know. The key is I have 18 months. Prior programs were much shorter and fit around my son’s school and my work schedules. They’ve kept me focused and moving forward week after week.
This latest program is very flexible to accommodate working individuals around the globe. There’s plenty of time to take classes and labs, practice, and get feedback. Rinse and repeat.
The summer is when I have the most time available to really dig in. I started this latest program in May 2022 and wanted to complete as much as I could over the summer. Yet I hardly made a dent. I took the classes I needed but struggled to move into the final steps of the program.
I had thousands of dollars at stake and was risking a certification that was years in the making. What was holding me back?
…will find a way to be filled
It is said that work fills the time available. When we have more time, it’s not necessarily a benefit. We may feel less pressure, but we also FEEL LESS PRESSURE. That pressure may be the very thing we need to create momentum and get going.
In my case, the extra time was definitely getting filled. Not with action, but with doubt and fear. The final parts of the program involved mentor reviews. I would submit recorded coaching sessions and get feedback from a professional coach. I’d learn whether what I was doing was “right” and whether I’d be considered good enough for certification.
If I was scheduled for a set time or had less time available, I’m not sure the fear would have grown to the level that it did. The more time that passed, however, the more my doubt grew and limiting beliefs solidified.
No matter the scenario, an abundance of time can be a disadvantage. Yes, too little time can result in poor quality or panic. However, too much time can be filled with distractions, doubt, and delays.
What can we do if there’s too much time and we need to push through the fillers? We can create a scarcity mindset.
Less time means less filler
If we find ourselves engaged in something intimidating or fear-inducing, more time can create more angst. Being proactive and planning ahead leaves space for all the what-ifs.
We can fight this by figuring out how to use time to our benefit and squeeze out the worry, anxiety, and stress.
Procrastination is a common way to avoid hard things. I’m not recommending that, as the hard thing is just waiting for us and potentially creating more havoc as time shrinks. We leave little room for error – yet can create a lot of them as we condense time.
Instead of creating actual scarcity, we can create a momentary scarcity mindset. Compress whatever time we have for a difficult step that’s creating angst to limit room for doubt and fear.
In my case, we can take classes any day of the week but Saturdays work best for my schedule. I waited until a Saturday morning to look at the upcoming schedule. What I saw was concerning – there were only two sessions available in the next month and I needed them both. I signed up immediately, and one of them was for later that day.
Scarcity moved my ass. Yes, I still have many months left to complete the program. Yet seeing one session available later that day, knowing avoiding it would add a month to my completion, was enough for me to sign up.
Less time to face the thing we fear
There were only a few hours between when I signed up and the class. It meant little time to worry and no time to back out.
Fortunately, I’m not the first person to go through this process. Everyone has to experience their first time, so the instructor was able to help by telling me to stop worrying, breathe, and hit play on my session.
It turned out I signed up with the hardest, most critical coach. She wasn’t going to sugarcoat the feedback, which was both scary and important for me to hear. By the end, I had validation from a professional that I’m a solid coach and constructive input to help me get better.
The fear that was holding me back was unfounded. How long would I have waited to discover the inner voices were lying to me? I’m not sure, but I easily lost 4 months stewing in self-doubt. Until I created an artificial scarcity mindset that pushed me forward.
By shrinking the time available to us – even with an artificial constraint – we leave less room for fillers. We don’t have time to distract ourselves or feed into fear and doubt. Instead, we fast-track necessary action toward whatever goal we seek.
Use the available time to learn
There is something to be said by just jumping in and doing the thing we fear. I recently read Mel Robbins’ book The Five Second Rule. Maybe I could have used 5-4-3-2-1 GO to push through my limiting beliefs and just get started.
Instead, I spent some time over the summer really understanding my hesitation. At first, I didn’t know what was going on. I knew there was a reason for the delays, even if it wasn’t logical or real. As I talked it through with my trusted advisors, I realized I was afraid.
Once I put my finger on the initial fears, I could address them with the instructors. Get feedback and input on how to combat or address them. After those conversations, I still hesitated because one fear remained. Imposter syndrome was the ultimate root of what was holding me back. Fear that I’m not a good coach – that I’m riding high on low expectations of my clients.
The only way to address that fear was to try. To risk my ego and put my work out for criticism.
If I had just pushed through, I would have learned sooner that my fears were unfounded. However, knowing our fears can also be powerful. So that we can see them coming and cut them off at the pass as they come up. As we hesitate in the future.
Time is a critical lever to growth
Time is tricky. Too much and we may find ways to fill it with needless activities or limiting beliefs. Too little and we will cut corners and make mistakes.
Considering how much time is useful – balancing pressure with time to learn and do good work – can be a superpower. Understanding our tendencies, how time constraints push us (or panic us), and the sweet spot for learning can give us just the right mix to fuel our growth.
While an abundance mindset remains the best policy in most situations, scarcity of time can be a powerful tool to move us forward. To make our brains work for us and shut down old tapes that might be holding us back.
When have you used time to delay or move yourself forward? What techniques have you used to push through limiting beliefs? I’d love if you’d share your story in the comments to help others on their journey.
