Write Lightning is a blog from writer Deb Thompson.
Everyone is welcome here.
(Some links or topics may not be completely kid-appropriate.)
Everyone is welcome here.
(Some links or topics may not be completely kid-appropriate.)
Tue, Nov 23 2004
A Dollar Buys A Whole Lot More Than It Used To
I think both Eric and Shrode are headed down the right path with their thoughts on winning the lottery. I've met quite a few people who think all their problems would be over if they just had a few million dollars. But, to a person, the folks who have insisted on that have been unable to handle the little bit of money they have. If they get a windfall of even a few hundred dollars it's gone in no time. Their plan for savings is to save money after everyone and everything else is paid, and there is always someone else, or something else, to be paid. So they never have much in savings. Those dollars they hand over for a lottery ticket represent the fantasy of exchanging a dollar for a few million dollars. But the likelihood is that they'll go home and keep making the same kinds of choices they made before they bought the ticket. They don't think the way a "rich" person does, so they never take steps to really attract the kind of monetary wealth they daydream about.
I've bought a few lottery tickets over the years, very sporadically, and In total I've probably spent less than thirty dollars on tickets. But I knew each time I bought one that I had a chance of winning. So I've never played casually. I've thought about the immediate and long-term choices I would have to make if the winning amount came to me. Of course, the odds of winning are astronomical, but for those who win, odds go out the window. So planning to win is as essential as playing.
Maybe the problem with most folks who play the lottery is that they gamble away that dollar for a ticket with more positive thinking than they give to their everyday choices in life. It's much easier and less painful for them to fantasize over beating the astronomical chances of winning the lottery than it is to do the work of making real changes in their life habits and choices and to risk the disappointment of failing.
If life seems to be handing us lemons over and over, there may be a reason. The choices we make from day to day affect our circumstances a whole lot more than the choice we make to hand over a dollar for a lottery ticket. If I ever find myself thinking the gamble of a dollar will solve all my problems, then I haven't yet begun to contemplate the real cost of playing, and I haven't yet become willing to make the day-to-day choices that could make my life better with or without a few extra million dollars.
Sure, it's fun to play. But I have a challenge for you. If you want a real thrill, take out a dollar bill right now. Cut a piece of blank paper roughly the size of that dollar. On one side of that blank sheet of paper, fill the white space with a list of things you like about yourself. Turn the paper over and write down all the steps you could take to be good to yourself right now and improve your life without spending those few million dollars you might win in a lotter. They must be steps within your reach right now, no matter how small they seem. Wrap the paper around that dollar and carry it with you. Read the steps every day and make a conscious choice to do them or not, but don't buy one more lottery ticket until you take at least one of those steps. Check the list every time you want to buy another ticket. If you cross off all the steps at some point, start another sheet of paper. And don't forget to use the other side of that new paper to write down what you like about yourself as you are right that minute. By concentrating on the reality of the power you have right now you might find out just how very rich you are and how much of your destiny you hold right in your hands. And no tax man or bill collector can take that kind of worth away from you. Pretty good odds.
posted at: 08:08 | category: /Playing | link to this entry
I think both Eric and Shrode are headed down the right path with their thoughts on winning the lottery. I've met quite a few people who think all their problems would be over if they just had a few million dollars. But, to a person, the folks who have insisted on that have been unable to handle the little bit of money they have. If they get a windfall of even a few hundred dollars it's gone in no time. Their plan for savings is to save money after everyone and everything else is paid, and there is always someone else, or something else, to be paid. So they never have much in savings. Those dollars they hand over for a lottery ticket represent the fantasy of exchanging a dollar for a few million dollars. But the likelihood is that they'll go home and keep making the same kinds of choices they made before they bought the ticket. They don't think the way a "rich" person does, so they never take steps to really attract the kind of monetary wealth they daydream about.
I've bought a few lottery tickets over the years, very sporadically, and In total I've probably spent less than thirty dollars on tickets. But I knew each time I bought one that I had a chance of winning. So I've never played casually. I've thought about the immediate and long-term choices I would have to make if the winning amount came to me. Of course, the odds of winning are astronomical, but for those who win, odds go out the window. So planning to win is as essential as playing.
Maybe the problem with most folks who play the lottery is that they gamble away that dollar for a ticket with more positive thinking than they give to their everyday choices in life. It's much easier and less painful for them to fantasize over beating the astronomical chances of winning the lottery than it is to do the work of making real changes in their life habits and choices and to risk the disappointment of failing.
If life seems to be handing us lemons over and over, there may be a reason. The choices we make from day to day affect our circumstances a whole lot more than the choice we make to hand over a dollar for a lottery ticket. If I ever find myself thinking the gamble of a dollar will solve all my problems, then I haven't yet begun to contemplate the real cost of playing, and I haven't yet become willing to make the day-to-day choices that could make my life better with or without a few extra million dollars.
Sure, it's fun to play. But I have a challenge for you. If you want a real thrill, take out a dollar bill right now. Cut a piece of blank paper roughly the size of that dollar. On one side of that blank sheet of paper, fill the white space with a list of things you like about yourself. Turn the paper over and write down all the steps you could take to be good to yourself right now and improve your life without spending those few million dollars you might win in a lotter. They must be steps within your reach right now, no matter how small they seem. Wrap the paper around that dollar and carry it with you. Read the steps every day and make a conscious choice to do them or not, but don't buy one more lottery ticket until you take at least one of those steps. Check the list every time you want to buy another ticket. If you cross off all the steps at some point, start another sheet of paper. And don't forget to use the other side of that new paper to write down what you like about yourself as you are right that minute. By concentrating on the reality of the power you have right now you might find out just how very rich you are and how much of your destiny you hold right in your hands. And no tax man or bill collector can take that kind of worth away from you. Pretty good odds.
posted at: 08:08 | category: /Playing | link to this entry
