Mindset. What is it and how does it assist farmers in transitioning to a new innovation.
What is your definition of the word mindset?
My interpretations:
A position that your mind is set in.
A state of being.
A way of life that your behavior emulates.
The reasoning behind why you behave in a specific way.
In my experience, when a mind is set, there is no stopping it. Most of the time we think of the mind being separate from emotion, that we can regulate the two separately. That being able to separate the two makes us strong, successful, and desirable.
However, I believe the mind is backed by raw human feelings and emotions. If you truly believe in something and your heart is in it, your mind will follow suit. Ultimately, it is a natural instinct to behave in ways that your heart and mind are set in.
So…
Why is the mindset of a farmer so important when transitioning to a new farming practice?
Do most farmers have a mindset? Do they even realize they have one?
How does a farmer establish a mindset in the first place? Is it from seeing someone else do something they desire on their farm? Is it a ‘feeling’ they have?
On the other hand…
What if they don’t have a mindset when they transition? Will they will lose direction? Give up? Or not be motivated to evolve their farm in the first place?
Side note: I feel that a farmer needs something to fall back on when they aren’t sure about what they’re doing. Especially when they are in a state of uncertainty.
Ok, but…
What happens when their mindset changes?
What happens when their mind tells them one thing, then they come to find out that their mindset is fooling them? That they’ve made a wrong decision?
How do they handle the changing of a mindset? Mentally? Emotionally? Especially when it’s costing them money, mental peace, affecting their well-being or family?
Do they stick with their original mindset? Go back to the ‘why’ that motivated them to transition in the first place? That raw emotion they originally had? The spark they experienced back before they started implementing the new idea(s)?
Maybe it’s simpler than what I read into it. Farmers in general seem very simple (on the outside). Cut and dry, black and white. But let’s be real. Those hard-headed, dirty-handed, physically strong men and women aren’t all that tough. On the inside of their calloused skin, in their brains, and especially their hearts, there is more meaningful motivation.
They have emotions and feelings toward a specific idea or innovation, that motivates them making them behave in ways that follow suit with their heart’s desires.