Mindset

What does Mind Set mean? In the Merriam Webster’s on-line dictionary it is defined as ‘a mental attitude or inclination’ or, ‘a fixed state of mind’. In simple English this translates to ‘a set way of thinking’.

An interesting question one might ask is; ‘what or who decides what mind set we should adopt?’ The answer is not so easy to pin point because there may be many influences that come into play to develop a mind set within a person or group of people.

One wonders what the value of mind set is to economic development in any country. Zambia’s urban youth today want fast money, fast cars, fast life, fast food, and multiple personalities. This is probably true for the youth of many countries across the world.

Experiences during a visit to China and India highlight some telling insights into mind sets that have current and future impacts on economic development in these two countries.

The Shenzhen China youth encounter showed a young woman that was very focused on being the best employee that she could be and desirous of owning a house one day and getting married to start a family at some point in life. Her only ambitions of travel were to visit Beijing, and possibly Singapore and Hong Kong. She was proud to eat Chinese food, loved cosmetics and make up, and had extensive knowledge of China’s history. The young woman would constantly inquire whether her visitors wanted to eat a hamburger or wanted to drink a coke. She was trying to make them feel at home.

The Hyderabad India youth encounter revealed a young man that started the discussion by proudly informing his visitor that India no longer imported the Mercedes Benz motor vehicles but now manufactured them in India. In addition he shared that he would like to visit the USA and Europe at the first chance given to him. He noted that he would like to buy a house in the West to support his children when they would need to go for university education outside of India. The young man’s historical high points were the ousting of the British from India, and the Partition between India and Pakistan in 1947. The meeting with the young man was in a coffee house of the likes of Starbucks or Café Coffee Day.

Clearly there were some distinct differences in mind set between these two youths who were both in their mid twenties and were university graduates. It is acknowledged that the comparison is between man and woman, and that there may be other defining characteristics that need to be taken into account, but in some way these two people highlighted some stark similarities and some major differences.

The similarities are that both China and India are developing countries hosting populations of over one billion people with many citizens scratching the earth for a living. The differences are that China is more inward looking while India is more outward looking in respect to life styles and aspirations.

There appears to be more in common between China and the USA which are both inward looking, rather than China and the developing world that is pre-occupied with external influences.

What are some of the possible pressures and influences that are willingly embraced by people across the globe that fashion our mind sets?

In the very early stages of life children are sent off to school to become educated. The content of school curricula is one of the biggest mind set designers. Schools teach that truth is white while death is black. Teachers say an apple a day keeps the doctor away. The text books preach that developing countries have tribes while the developed world has nations. Africans eat bugs while Westerners eat crustaceans – a sophisticated word for both sea bugs and land bugs.

Colonial education has a sublime programming that covertly influences the mind set of the developing world to become one which is unconfident, seeks to emulate the West, is embarrassed of culture and tradition, and is self centred.

This education is further supplemented by the mass media programming of life styles through radio, television, the internet, and the print media. Radio, internet, and satellite television are intrusive and know no boundaries.

Over the last one hundred years, developing countries have embraced a mind set that favours the outsider instead of the insider. The mind set has promoted immediate lavish luxury life styles instead of hard earned stable futures for all. Our mind sets have compelled us to throw out our local languages which carry traditions and cultures, and we have adopted the uncultured medium of English from primary school to university. Children now prefer to become a rap star that has done jail time instead of a teacher, doctor, or policeman who serve the community. Elders aim at short term gains to feed their families and provide a comfortable life for the near future, and leave the plight of the next generation to chance and hope.

The mind set that dominates the developing world is self destructive and plays into the hands of the developed countries who sit at the side lines to pick up the spoils after we have destroyed ourselves.

The mind set that believes that your economic adversary will play fair and assist you to overcome them is a brain exercise in futility.

The mind set that looks for others to clean up your economy and put in on the right track is like throwing your child to the Hyena in the hope that it will feed him or her.

The mind set that measures progress by the clothes, car, food, and language that we speak is one that concretizes our dependency on egotistical benchmarks that do not improve the lives of the vast majority who are our children, relatives, and friends.

The mind set that sits in the comfort of a privileged job or position while advising others to tighten up their belts and fend for themselves, creates elite classes that add nothing to the economic development of the country.

Zambia needs to see a mind set that chooses to be African and Zambian in very respect so that a confident nation can emerge that recognizes its values and can engage with the world knowing where it is coming from, where it is now, and where it is going.

We need to have a mind set that believes in supporting our own people and will facilitate and promote domestic economic growth and capacity.

Zambia must inculcate a mind set that strategically and selectively chooses which social economic international and regional battles to fight so that the benefits can accrue to the local citizenry.

A mind set that will work for Africa and more specifically for Zambia is one that will bring social and economic development to the majority of the people with time. The indication of a positive mind set in Zambia will clearly be measured by the achievements of the next generation.

Published 20 July 2010