By Benjamin Lyngdoh
On September 22, 2023 Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma and Nongkrem MLA Ardent Basaiawmoit had a verbal spat in the Legislative Assembly on the issue of mindset. As important a topic as it is, it was rather disappointing that the matter slipped public discourse and did not generate the much-needed debate. This shows that mindset is an elephant in the room – all are aware of the nuances and problems related to it, but mostly no one wants to talk about it and look at solutions. It seems like in Meghalaya any talk on mindset is a taboo.
Mindset is dynamic
In her book titled Mindset: The new psychology of success, Carol Dweck underlines two types of people – fixed mindset and growth mindset. People who believe that their talents and abilities are fixed carry a fixed mindset. Such people are less likely to try new things, learn and hence, remain stagnant. People who believe that talents and abilities can be acquired while enriching oneself carry a growth mindset. Such people make better decisions while improving their intelligence and skills. This highlights that mindset is dynamic and not static.
Neuroscience tells us that our brains have the ability to keep on learning till the moment we die. This learning is possible only if people are willing to move out of their comfort zones at school, college, work, sports, governance, etc. In fact, this is the hallmark of a growth mindset – the desire and drive to fight the tide of oppression and negativity. The brain always directs the body to act, move and be active. In the absence of action, the mindset goes lethargic, uninterested and indifferent to the happenings around us. This is how a person loses hope and meaning in life. This can also lead to wrong habits such as substance abuse. Hence, the solution is to keep on moving and being active in line with the innate nature of a dynamic mindset. This individual growth mindset when multiplied to include others then becomes the mindset and culture of a group of people which then has larger ramifications.
Mindset is contagious
A good example of a contagious mindset can be seen in sports. One player can impact upon the outlook, belief and performance of others. Defeat turns to victory. Since mindset is contagious, it basically works in two ways. Either it will inspire to achieve or it will work to deceive. The achievement factor is positive. Let us take the case of students. They look up to teachers, elders, church leaders, etc to inspire them. As they grow older and become more aware of the ways of the world they then look to the political leadership as the ones who would carve a future for them. Politicians are supposed to create opportunities through their regulations and policies that touch upon the masses. The failure to do so will prove them as being inept to inspire achievement amongst the youth.
The second factor deception is more severe. For example, Tourism Minister Paul Lyngdoh stated that in the last edition of cherry blossom festival the total attendees were 45,000 out of which 10,000 were tourists. The point to be noted is that even without festivals Meghalaya gets on average 3,300 tourists per day going by pre-Covid 19 figure of 12 lakh tourist inflows per annum. By today’s estimate (15 lakh per annum) the average inflow is 4,000 tourists per day. So, the answer given by him was not actually defending the rationale for festivals, rather it was to the contrary. Further, to claim that Meghalaya has had more foreign tourist arrivals than domestic in recent years is total deception. The statistics of the Ministry of Tourism, GOI records only a few thousand foreign arrivals. When the political class has this mindset then all hope is lost.
The elephant in the room
When Ardent Basaiawmoit says that there is a difference in the mindset of a tribal and others, it raises a question on the consistent calls for the Khasi community to fight and change. The culture, traditions, practices, etc of a tribal is different from the others, but to bring mindset into the mix is questionable. Mindset is either fixed or growth orientated. So, when Ardent says that there is a difference does he mean the mindset of a tribal is fixed? If that be so then it is gigantically problematic for the Khasi community. Again, CM Conrad Sangma might have taken the high ground by claiming others to be microscopic. But, MDA 2.0 needs to look at the mirror on account of education and health indices, inflation, etc while consistently selling the feel-good factor of governance by claiming that all is well. What does this say about the government’s mindset?
However, the biggest elephant in the room concerns the students. Their mindset towards career development is bleak. Wherever they turn they see only limitations and challenges. Right from school days they have inferred that politics rules the roost and that it is unfair at most times. No wonder many of them have a fixed mindset. They have already pictured that only those who have backing and are at the helm of affairs will benefit while the majority will suffer. We talk of a growth mindset. But, it is impossible to have it in the current scheme of things.
Dealing with the elephant
It has been the norm for homes, teachers, elders, churches, etc to shape the mindset of the young. Although this is alright it is at the same time flawed. Mindset cannot be nurtured and built in the absence of an engaging and vibrant environment. Parents and teachers can mould the mindset to the hilt. However, once these students move out and find that the environment is not conducive and enabling due to lack of opportunities, they regress from a growth mindset to a fixed mindset. As stated earlier, a prolonged stay in a fixed mindset is a problem.
It can be argued that the meaning of a growth mindset is to fight and overcome. But, this theory only works when there are levers to assist in the fight. For example, a poor unemployed youth can be asked to practice self-employment, but this is only possible if he/she can avail of free training and development on a certain trade/skill. The crux of the matter is that an ideal political leadership is one that focuses on transformation of the environment. It entails a change in the nature and shape of Meghalaya which would be encompassing for the young minds. What is needed is bold governance which would make brave decisions on infrastructure development and focussing on strategic sectors like agriculture (where 65% of the population depend for their livelihoods) and the rest will follow.
In the end, how we run the economy is like how we run our homes. Parents get monthly income and it is spent first on food, education, fees, health, bills, etc. Money is spent first on the building blocks of human capital. If excess income is there, then only it is spent on luxuries. It is about getting the priorities right. Do we have the mindset for that?
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