Mindset, in simple terms is the attitude with which you will interpret and respond to situations. It is your “default” way of acting and of reading and responding to what happens to you.

It starts with your posture of whether you think you belong to the camp of those “who give help” (WGH) or those “who need help” (WNH.) In general, you will switch between the one who gives help and the one who needs help but what I am referring to is where you spend most of your time.

The following schematic shows the distribution during “normal” times – people who need help (WNH) are usually lot higher than the people who give help (WGH)

When times are tough (example: during a recession,) those who give help (WGH) shrink drastically and those who need help (WNH) expand by leaps and bounds.

By default, if you are someone who thinks belongs to those who need help (WNH,) the pool of people from whom you can get help shrinks drastically during tough times and naturally that leads to panic and confusion.

In the same way, if you are someone who thinks belongs to those who give help (WGH,) you notice that your opportunity (those who need help) expanding significantly during tough times.

The external situation is the same but people with different mindsets will either see a problem or an opportunity.

Mindset matters. Big time!