Jackie is a gifted web designer. Her inbox is full of enquiries from people who want to work with her. She loves what she does, but she gets worn down by clients asking for a discount on her already reasonable rates. This behaviour not only affects Jackie’s bottom line and the number of clients she must take on to make a living, it also leaves her feeling demoralised.

When clients repeatedly ask for discounts.
When your boss emails every weekend.
When staff continually show up late for meetings.
When you don’t feel valued, it’s tempting to blame the people who don’t value you.

Start by looking at your actions and responses—the things that might be giving this behaviour oxygen. Think about what could be triggering the behaviour, then own the way you want people to respond. You have a responsibility to create the story that elicits the reactions and responses you want. How are you framing your scarcity?

Image by dawolf.