What is the psychology of poverty

Once, specialists in the field of psychology and economics had the task of answering questions about how much money was needed for happiness, why someone was succeeding and someone not, and, finally, how the psychology of a rich person differs from a poor person. Today, a clear understanding has developed that wealth is primarily work on oneself, and without the psychological aspect it is impossible. Let's see what the psychology of poverty and wealth is.

Income distribution

For people with different income levels, the distribution of cash flows occurs in different ways.

Wealthy people in obtaining and spending money often adhere to the "norm" strategy. They really assess their needs and opportunities, earn as much as they planned, spend as much as needed, make savings.

Middle-income people usually live by the plain strategy. They earn exactly as much as they plan to spend. With such a strategy, a person is deprived of any financial development. He always has a need to cover his expenses and has no time for growth. Accordingly, there is no question of accumulating funds.

And finally, people whose income is lower than average usually follow the “pit” strategy. They make big plans for their money, while earning little and spending a lot. Over time, inability and unwillingness to earn leads to the fact that a person is constantly in material subordination. He blindly fulfills the requirements of the one on whom his material condition depends.

Attitude to money

One scientist and researcher found that high-income people are more likely to notice the connection between money and achievement than everyone else. With an increase in income, the role of money in a person’s life first increases and then decreases. Such an entertaining psychology. Money is most needed for those with an average income level. It was also noted that with an increase in income, a person’s tendency to withhold his earnings increases.

Studies show that a person’s attitude to such factors as power, quality, prestige, anxiety and distrust does not depend on the amount of money. In other words, the level of happiness is not directly related to the level of income. There are much stronger sources of happiness: leisure makes us happier by 42%; family - 39%; work (as a way to realize your potential) - by 38%; friends - by 37%; relations with the opposite sex - by 34%; and finally, health - by 34%. Attitude to money expresses the unmet needs of a person and defines a model of his behavior in the field of social and economic relations.

Attitude to money reflects such factors:

1. Taboo money. Today, talk about intimate relationships is less forbidden than about money and the level of income of the interlocutor. Questions about the level of earnings are considered bad form.
2. Age and gender. Men are more rational than women in terms of spending money. When it is not possible to buy something, it is girls who are more upset. The older a person, the better he knows the value of money.
3. Personal characteristics, in particular, self-esteem. The lower it is, the more people attach importance to money.

The attitude to material wealth is formed under the influence of such factors:

1. The experiences of early childhood.
2. Intergroup rivalry.
3. Beliefs.
4. Parental attitude to money.

Each of us has a certain “financial corridor”, and we unconsciously strive to be in it. On an unconscious level, a person sees and notices only those circumstances and facts that correspond to his personal beliefs, ignoring information that does not correspond to his picture of the world. To expand your capabilities, you need to leave the comfort zone, learn to admit your mistakes and constantly try something new. The psychology of poverty rejects development and restricts a person very much , not allowing him to reveal his potential.

Common Money Myths

1. Money is omnipotent. To argue that everything is bought and sold, can only be a person who has not decided on the meaning of his life. It is interesting to note that it is the psychology of poverty that assumes such a worldview. Rich people know that it’s not money that rules the world.
2. Money is a criterion for a person’s social adaptation. In other words, the more a person has them, the more they appreciate, love and respect him. You cannot buy sincere respect.
3. Money spoils a person. A poor person whose psychology blocks development, as a rule, believes that money is evil, and it spoils people. In fact, financial well-being only enhances the personality traits that prevail. Thus, money makes a good man generous, a brave heroic, an evil aggressive, and a greedy mean.
4. Big money cannot be earned honestly. A very common excuse for poor people. Today, a huge number of people achieve financial prosperity in an honest way. Those whose picture of the world is adjusted by the psychology of poverty cannot understand that many wealthy people conduct their business in an honest way. In this regard, one cannot call successful, for example, an official who built his fortune through bribes. He is rich, but not successful, and most importantly - unhappy. Moreover, if you dig deeper, he is not even rich, since his well-being does not depend on skills and professionalism, but on a temporary post.

Why do people crave money?

In the pursuit of wealth, people often try to secure themselves security, power, freedom or love. We will analyze each of the factors separately:

• Security. Often a person’s need for emotional security causes a desire for prosperity and a fear of poverty. The psychology of such people is formed in connection with childhood injuries. The increase in income returns the very sense of security that was felt in childhood. Money helps to overcome anxiety. From this point of view, people can be divided into 4 categories:

1. Miser. Such people find the main point of financial activity in saving.
2. Ascetic. For people of this group, ostentatious poverty and self-denial give great pleasure.
3. Discount Hunter. This person will not spend money until he is in the most advantageous position. Discouraged by the prospect of acquiring something at an unreasonably low price, he can spend his savings irrationally, acquire unnecessary things. And the prospect of acquiring something more expensive in a person dulls the fear of poverty. The psychology of poverty is often manifested in the pursuit of profit. More details about the attitude to discounts will be discussed below.
4. Fanatical collector. Such people tend to cultivate things that can even replace their relationships with loved ones.

• Power. The money and the prospect of gaining power that they discover is often seen as an attempt to return to infantile fantasies of omnipotence. Those who seek power from money are often quite aggressive in realizing their ambitions. In terms of the desire for power, people are divided into such groups:

1. Manipulator. Such a person manipulates others through money, taking advantage of their greed and vanity.
2. The builder of the empire. Such people are always confident in their abilities. They deny their dependence on someone and try to make others dependent on themselves.
3. Godfather. This type of people buys the loyalty and loyalty of others for money, often resorting to bribes.

• Liberty. From the point of view of freedom, money acts as a panacea for routine, opening up the opportunity to manage your time and fulfill your desires and dreams without any obstacles. In itself, the desire for freedom as a motivation to make money is very commendable, the main thing is that a person feels the measure. In terms of freedom, people are divided into the following groups:

1. The buyer of freedom. These people position their self-sufficiency as the main goal in life. Not always they can enlist the support of loved ones.
2. Freedom fighter. A prominent representative of this group is a radical politician who rejects money in all possible ways as a result of enslaving people.

• Love. Many people think that by increasing their income, they will receive the loyalty and love of others. Such people can be called "buyers of love." They give gifts to others in the hope of gaining their location. Often the presence of money gives a person the feeling that he is more attractive to the opposite sex.

Many, not realizing that the main task is to solve the existential problem, headlong try to earn more money, and as a result do not become happier. Here, as an example, we can recall the dictum that for money you can buy a bed, but not a dream; medicines, but not health; home, but not comfort; jewelry, but not beauty; entertainment, but not happiness, and so on.

Thus, often completely non-financial goals become financial tasks for a person, which, of course, is a big mistake and does not affect a problem like poverty syndrome. The psychology of self-preservation alienates a person from solving his problem. As a rule, in order to realize an old dream, a person needs quite a bit of money. And sometimes they are not needed at all.

Psychological portrait of a poor man

To justify themselves and their poverty, people form certain attitudes in their worldview. Let's look at what psychological barriers do not allow a person to get out of poverty, which prevents him from gaining financial independence.

Complaints about life

Perhaps this is the first distinguishing feature of a person whose consciousness is dominated by the psychology of poverty. Very often people complain about their country, loved ones, unfavorable times, external shortcomings and so on. All this testifies to reactive thinking, which suggests that a person adapts to the environment. Successful people preach projective thinking, changing the environment that does not suit them. This is the difference between poverty and wealth. Decision psychology is inherent in the rich and successful. The poor only prefer to discuss their problems. The psychology of a leader is based on the same principle. Radislav Gandapas, Russia's most titled business coach, says: “If the environment doesn’t suit you, leave it, change it or die in it ... just don’t complain!” Thus, the first thing worth noting when answering the question of how to get rid of the psychology of poverty is the fact that you need to stop complaining. And not only to others, but to himself.

“Everyone owes me”

Psychologically poor people are often sure that everyone owes them (country, employer, parents, children, wife / husband and so on). In this way, people shift their responsibility to others. A successful person is used to doing everything himself. He is fully responsible for his life and will never say that someone owes him.

Unloved and low paid, but stable work

Another very common manifestation of the psychology of poverty. People are ready to give all their time to unloved work, which steadily brings them income. They can hate their leader and colleagues, get very tired, live with constant dreams of Friday and salary, but do not change anything. People are afraid to quit, as this means a certain unknown and uncertainty that the psychology of poverty rejects. A successful person will not get hung up on one job. He is confident in his abilities and is ready to knock on any door. In addition, he is always looking for additional sources of income and tries to monetize his hobby.

Fear of change

Man, by nature, seeks peace and stability. But often, in order to achieve success, including financial, you need to be prepared for change. This may be a change of work, moving, opening a business and so on. And if a person is poor and does not change anything, then how will he become rich? One who refuses to open up to everything new will inevitably form a psychology of poverty. How to fix this problem? Just start doing atypical things for yourself - and soon you will begin to receive excitement and energy from this.

Low self-esteem

Not all people who can be called poor complain about life. Many of them understand everything, but consider themselves unworthy of more. Of course, if a person has not achieved anything and he has nothing to be proud of, then self-esteem has nowhere to come from. However, a lack of achievement should stimulate action, not self-flagellation.

Inaction

As a rule, people with a psychology of poverty are inactive. This is manifested both in relationships with others, and in everyday life. This is due, again, to the reluctance to learn something unknown and take risks, as well as to the fear of failure. After all, if you do nothing, then there is nowhere to make mistakes. Therefore, getting rid of the psychology of poverty involves active action, continuous development and the search for opportunities.

Envy

A very unpleasant sign of the psychology of poverty. If a person is openly or secretly jealous of someone whose life is better, he is doomed to poverty. Of course, in rare cases, envy can become a motivator, but this is more a rivalry than envy. If a person has a desire for competition, then this is not quite the psychology of poverty. Signs of poverty should be eradicated comprehensively, but envy must be eliminated first. Instead of envying anyone, you need to ask yourself what efforts were made to be better. And it makes no sense to compare yourself with anyone, because everyone has their own life.

Greed

It is worth mentioning that greed and thrift are not the same thing. A greedy person puts money as a top priority, he denies himself everything and does not live as he wants. The economical person, in turn, does what he wants, but at the same time he plans his budget wisely. However, both of these traits are not characteristic of rich people, but if frugality helps in some cases, then greed destroys us from the inside. Greed should be eradicated, because it will never lead to success.

"All at once"

People with a psychology of poverty often dream of getting everything at once, while naturally doing nothing. Of course, this does not happen. To achieve financial well-being, you need to understand how hard the money gets. Otherwise, a person will not be able to control them. People with a psychology of poverty to the question "What will you do if you get a million?" usually answer that they will spend it on some entertainment. A person with a psychology of wealth will say that he will invest this million in a business that will bring him income. Having achieved success, he will surely return that same million back.

Passion for easy money

This symptom is somewhat similar to the previous one. All poor people love discounts and easy money. Whether it is greed or saving is not important. It is important that a passion for easy money is a feature of an unsuccessful and poor person. When a person is self-sufficient, he perceives the offer to save as a threat and a dirty trick. A successful person does not like discounts, because he knows that he can afford to pay the full price. Wherever there is a choice between “pay” or “not pay”, he pays. For example, why are there no discounts in premium car brands? Not because potential buyers do not count money, but because they fear discounts. This also includes bribery, blat, and so on. That is why not every wealthy person is rich. He is rich in wallet, but poor in worldview.

Take, not give

One of the most enduring attributes of a truly wealthy person is service. Agree, it sounds paradoxical. Let's get it right. What does the poor person dream of? Usually it is a good car, a good home, relaxation and other attributes of wealth. Moreover, as a rule, to the question “What else?” he replies something like: "Well ... a car, and you can get better." A rich person rarely thinks about his needs. Its task is to make the lives of others better. First it applies to the family, then to the city, and then to the country. That is why many successful people give huge amounts of money to charity. The poor will say: "Sins beg for supplication!" And what else can he say if he thinks in terms of “take” and not “give”, and does not understand how one can give money to someone who has earned sweat and blood.

Service is a huge source of motivation and vitality. This is the strongest thing that is incomprehensible to people with the psychology of poverty. Service can be identified with the psychologies of a leader, father, and God.

Goal formation

Scientists have proven that success is most often achieved by one who clearly knows what he wants. In one of the most prestigious universities in the world, a survey was conducted with one simple question: “Do you set clear, written goals for the future?” The result showed that 3% of respondents write down their goals, 13% know what they want, but do not write down, and the remaining 84% do not have any clear goals, except to finish their studies. Ten years later, these same people were asked about their income level. It was revealed: respondents who had goals, but did not record them, earn twice as much as those who did not set goals. But the most interesting thing is that those same 3% of the survey participants who recorded their goals earn ten times more than everyone else. Here, perhaps, there is nothing to add.

How to overcome the psychology of poverty?

So, summarizing the above, we conclude. How to get rid of the psychology of poverty? To do this, you need:

1. Stop complaining!
2. Understand that no one owes anything to anyone!
3. Stop holding on to an unloved job!
4. Love change and action!
5. Act, thereby increasing your self-esteem!
6. Do not waste time on inappropriate actions!
7. Eradicate your envy!
8. Do not wait for a quick result!
9. Eradicate your passion for easy money!
10. Motivate yourself for success through service!
11. Record your goals!

Conclusion

Today we have figured out what constitutes the psychology of poverty and wealth. It is surprising that in our time, when there are so many conditions and opportunities for financial well-being, as well as tools to ensure it (books, trainings, etc.), many suffer from a lack of money. Definitely, the reason for everything is not external factors, but the psychology of poverty. A book on success and financial well-being is unlikely to help someone who is poor in his thoughts or just afraid to change something. Therefore, first of all, you need to work on yourself and your worldview!