Daily Inspiration: “Defeatism is a drug – you know it’s bad for you but you take it because it’s the easy way out!”

“Defeatism is a drug – you know it’s bad for you but you take it because it’s the easy way out!” – Futurist  Jim Carroll

After my keynote at the Mississippi Economic Development conference yesterday, I led a panel of folks from other jurisdictions who have worked in the field for years. We had a great discussion! One of the issues we talked about was mindset – as in, how can a region like Mississippi battle back against those around who think that they might never accomplish something great.  In other words, we focused in on the idea of defeatism. In the high velocity economy with so much change, people can easily adapt a mindset that ‘great things can’t happen here!’ Defeatism can be a rampant problem when it comes to business, the economy and obviously, personal issues.  Some people can adopt a mindset that failure is inevitable – that nothing great will ever be accomplished for a wide range of different reasons. The more they think like this, the more they fail. The more they fail, the more they think that they are defeated. It becomes an endless cycle. Defeatism as a mindset is a drug. The only way to break free is to take bold steps. The first step? Recognize the problem and admit that the very idea of defeatism has defeated – and then begin to move on to do something to battle back!