The Victim Mindset
Why it is a threat to our liberty
Sometimes, we like to say we woke up on the ‘wrong side of the bed.’
We are immediately flooded with thoughts about the things we don’t want to do today, about the disagreement we had with our partners the night before, about the dirty pile of dishes that is certainly still piled up in the kitchen, which we will now have to clean because no one else is going to do it.
We begrudgingly drag our feet into the kitchen, and start washing the dishes loudly, murmuring under our breath and clanging pots and pans loudly enough to disturb everyone else in the household. They have to know how hard we are working. Everyone else is lazy, uncaring, and don’t appreciate everything we do for them.
When we start our days with a victim mindset, we are certain that we are the biggest victim around, and that everyone and everything outside of us is to blame.
We all do this sometimes. Self-awareness is a choice, a practice, and it unlocks the key of choice we have over our circumstances, and how much our grievances affect our mindset.
We can easily turn our day around by doing what needs to be done without complaining, externally or internally, and taking responsibility for our thoughts and feelings — realizing that they come from within, and not without.
But what happens when everyday is a bad day? When everyday is dependent on what others around us do? When that extends to the world around us, to the cards we have been dealt, to the systems that ‘oppress us’ because of our gender, race, background, ethnicity, or any other identity card we base our self-concept on?
On this episode of Liberty Curious, I was joined by
, Professor Emeritus of Economics and Leadership, to discuss how our personal grievances compound until they become a threat to liberty.Barry writes:
“In his 1976 lecture, “Socialism and Science,” Hayek argued that socialism requires a “government with unlimited powers” to give groups with grievances what they think “they are entitled to.”
Barry explains that by building our self-concept around our grievances, we are much more susceptible to the indoctrination of illiberal ideas that has become the norm on University campuses, the spin we see on television and the news, and the worldview of others who have the victim mindset around us.
“It’s almost like they’ve gone through a Maoist camp… they’ve been brainwashed to see the world in a terrible way that’s at odds with liberty.”
We discuss why *THIS* mindset puts our liberty at RISK.
Barry explains that our individual mindset has a ripple effect that shapes the society around us. When we build our identities around our personal grievances, we play into the hands of illiberal politicians and ideologies that promise to solve all of our problems for us, at the cost of our inner and outer liberty.
is the author of Mindset Shifts, a Substack dedicated to empowering individuals with the tools that support internal and external freedom.
Kate, It's always my great pleasure to do a podcast with you.
Mindset is everything. We are in control of our lives if we knowingly choose who we are and what we want, focus on what we want to do/be and EXPECT that we will get it. We will get whatever we expect. Expect negative and that is what you’ll get.