What is the psychology of poverty and how to get rid of habits that condemn you to poverty: personal experience of the author of the article

• Definition
• Manifestations
• Poverty syndrome
• Correction
• Symptoms
• Psychocorrection
• Conclusion

Psychology has been studying human complexes, their prerequisites and consequences for many years. One of the manifestations that prevent a person from realizing himself normally in life is a poverty complex. It is directly related to an inferiority complex. Any complex is a set of sensations, thoughts and attitudes based on an incorrect perception of oneself in the world and society, as an integral person, and imposed by standard canons.

Poverty may be a consequence of a complex

Definition

As soon as a person realized that he could not survive alone, communities began to be created where there were never people equal in wealth. There have always been people who knew how to get wealth and keep it, and those whose wealth did not linger. Many believe that it was easier to achieve goals in the past, but even today many make their way from the very bottom. This happens because some are focused on achieving their dreams and achieve this by any means, while others are afraid to take risks and change something in their lives. A constant lack of money and a reluctance to change one’s financial situation is the psychology of poverty.

It is common for people to strive for stability. If a person lived his entire childhood in poverty, then already at a conscious age, even if he achieves incredible success in business, he will not strive to spend money on pleasure, but will count every penny. The “Christmas Carol” about Scrooge, familiar to everyone from childhood, most fully describes this human state of mind. This story is based on real events and reflects how a poverty complex develops into pathological stinginess.

An inferiority complex is a leading complex that gives rise to a series of behavioral deviations. This is a normal phenomenon of the human psyche. A person who has been abandoned by his significant other will start fleeting romances in order to stop suffering for her. An inferiority complex often transforms into a poverty complex. This is the whole psychology of poverty.

Manifestations

The signs of the psychology of poverty are quite varied.

1. Buying expensive things in order to keep up with the canons accepted in a certain social circle. This is a complete inability to manage your finances.
2. Self-pity, constant complaints.
3. Lack of confidence in one's own capabilities. Hope for money to come out of nowhere: winnings, inheritance.
4. Reluctance to change jobs with low pay because they are stable.
5. Inability to correctly assess sources of income and benefit from them.
6. Saving for yourself and your loved ones. This refers to buying cheap food for your family to save money.
7. Fear and reluctance to make efforts in trying to achieve financial well-being.
8. Reluctance to throw away trash. Many people have a urge to keep old things, even when they have fallen into disrepair and new ones have already been purchased (books, things, equipment, furniture).

Robert Kiyosaki's aphorism about poverty

Inaction

In order to achieve a high level of income, you need to get out of the so-called “comfort zone”, constantly develop, improve your professionalism, gain additional experience, or simply look for another job with more income. If a specialist has reached the limit in his field of activity, then he can start earning extra money to earn more money. For example, a teacher can earn extra money by tutoring.

Photo by Hutomo Abrianto on Unsplash

For a person with a poor lifestyle, all these actions are alien; he simply does not want to look for ways to earn more money. His poverty is a consequence of his own inaction.

Poverty syndrome

The poor man's syndrome is instilled in us from our school desks. We are always told that poverty is not a vice. Here there is a clear influence of public opinion, which already implants a deliberately incorrect attitude in the child’s subconscious. There is nothing shameful in the fact that a person wants to look good, wear beautiful clothes and use newfangled household items, but they are trying their best to convince us of this, killing all high aspirations in a person in advance. Poor man's syndrome is more a sociological term than a psychological one. Poverty includes the concept of not only a meager income, but also a habitual way of life that is passed on from one generation to another. The psychology of poverty also includes stereotypes imposed on people in childhood.

Such norms of behavior pull a person deeper and deeper into their pool and do not allow them to get out of there, pre-programming their consciousness for poverty:

• First, the children are taught that there is nothing to do at the resorts, there is a dacha where they need to work;
• then they condemn the rich, saying that they stole everything;
• Afterwards they say that there is no need to get a higher education, you still can’t jump further than a janitor.

The psychology of poverty and poverty syndrome are synonymous concepts that involve humbly accepting one’s situation. This is a lack of faith in yourself, in the possibility of changing a predetermined scenario.

By the way, religious beliefs also do not contribute to the growth of self-esteem. In many beliefs, everything that can bring pleasure to a person is sinful.

In certain social groups, a common passive line of behavior develops, which they do not cross. Over time, people begin to feel comfortable in the image of a victim who belongs to a low-income social group. This is how the understanding begins to form that everyone owes them.

A similar example is some single mothers and large families, who are classified as vulnerable segments of the population. They don’t pay money for food in kindergartens and schools, their children go to university for free, regardless of their level of knowledge, and parents don’t even try to make attempts to improve the well-being of the family on their own. As a result, children from such families believe that everything in life will be presented to them just like that.

Rich and poor person: what's the difference?

The biblical words that everyone will be rewarded according to their faith are perfectly suited to the realities of life. You just need to keep in mind not faith in God, but faith in yourself and in the fact that a person will have everything that he sincerely believes in. If you believe that your business will succeed and your income will increase quickly, it will happen. Believe that you will have a strong family too. Only this faith should be not only on a conscious, but also on a subconscious level.

No matter how skeptics scoff, a person is really able to control his desires and get what he wants.

Do you want to check whether you have a psychology of poverty or not? Give it a try. A beautiful car passed next to you. How do you feel about this, what do you think?

1. Anger and irritation. “They’re freaks, they stole and bought expensive cars.” Oh, I wish I had one like that! It’s a pity that an honest person can’t make money on it!”
2. Delight. “This is a car! I want one too and will buy it. You just need to find a good job/implement all your plans/find like-minded people who will help you move forward.”

Try not to succumb to self-deception. The first feeling that flashed through is the truth, no matter how bitter it may be. If you experience negative feelings, then, unfortunately, you are living an attitude of poverty.

Even a very good psychotherapist cannot get you out of it. Until you drive away all the “cockroaches” yourself, your life will not change for the better. First of all, acknowledge the problem. If you say to yourself: “Yes, I want money, but I still hate wealth and cannot cope with my attitudes towards poverty,” this will be the first step towards a new life.

Only then will you be able to overcome old stereotypes over time.

Correction

The psychology of poverty can be easily corrected. The main thing is to correctly assess the situation and understand the difference between reality and far-fetched facts that prevent you from achieving financial well-being. First of all, you should start with your attitude towards yourself, your inner “I”. Learn to see the positive in yourself, not just the negative.

Before you get rid of the psychology of poverty, look at the reasons that brought you to this state. Don't be afraid to go against generally accepted standards. When a goal seems unrealistic, do not despair. Streamline the task by dividing it into equal parts. Start with the simplest one and see how step by step you can achieve success in any field of activity. Human possibilities are limitless, we need to use them correctly. So it is with the psychology of poverty. It needs to be transformed into a positive trait that will spur movement.

Use the slightest opportunity to earn extra money, don’t be content with little. Money is not evil, as we are told. If you have money, you will not become a bad person. You can simply realize yourself in life.

Principles of Wealth

Saving habit

The poor spend their energy not on making money, but on keeping it. Instead of finding an opportunity to earn more, they may spend a long time shopping, choosing places where they can save a few rubles, or stand in line for hours, filling out documents to reduce utility bills, or spare no time and effort to receive financial assistance.

If you discover the listed traits in yourself, get rid of them immediately. Do not exaggerate the inaccessibility of money - it willingly goes into the hands of those who meet it halfway.

© Elena Staretskaya, BBF.RU

Symptoms

Signs of a poverty complex are immediately visible. These are special behavioral characteristics that are provoked by the same incorrect attitudes. A person does not want to show that he is poor and tries with all his might to maintain his reputation in public. This is one example when a person simply does not know how to manage money correctly. In pursuit of “rich man standards,” a person spends fabulous sums on completely unnecessary fashion items, leaving no money for food. With his entire appearance, he tries to show that he is wealthy, leaving a tip for the waiter in an expensive cafe, but at home he may not have furniture.

The reasons for this attitude towards one’s own money are hidden in the social norms imposed on us in a certain society, and the lack of education. This often happens with schoolchildren, especially teenagers, when they start begging for a terrible thing that is not needed, but only because some Dima or Olya has it. These Dima or Olya humiliate other children, citing the fact that they have this thing, therefore they are better. Parents, heeding the pleas of their offspring, buy the item instead of conveying to their consciousness the correct attitude.

In this case, the psychology of the poor person is to create the illusion of wealth. But it is important to understand that visibility does not make you rich, but the opposite.

Attributes of wealth do not always mean a person is successful

The conviction that everyone around should

For some reason, the so-called “poor man” is sure that the employer is obliged to pay him as much as necessary in order to afford everything he wants. At the same time, absolutely not understanding that the employer is not going to increase his salary because of the whim of his employee. Usually they say to such people: “There are no irreplaceable people, if you are not satisfied with your salary, we will find someone who will do your job for the same amount.”

In fact, this behavior is more than strange, because when applying for a job, the person was warned about all working conditions. So why complain that your salary is not enough and consider your boss greedy?

Psychocorrection

All complexes come from childhood, so it is necessary to give children the right psychological education in a timely manner. There is no need to prove to anyone that you are rich. No one has the right to condemn a person for being poor or rich. Today there is money, but tomorrow it may not be there. Everyone remembers how the currency changed and people lost a lot of money in their savings books. Back then people wanted to increase their capital, but it turned out the other way around.

Children must understand that any thing is money. You need to clearly distinguish between things that are necessary and those that are needed for fun. For example, a computer for a student in an institution where the main subject is computer science is a necessity, but a game console in adolescence, by and large, is not needed.

Just because there is no game console, the child does not become bad or defective. He must understand this first of all. Healthy self-esteem also plays a big role. If a child understands himself in society, understands his importance, it will not even occur to him to ask for a meaningless thing that everyone has. Identical things make us a herd, eradicating uniqueness, individuality, laying into the subconscious an attitude of the same type of behavior.