The Psychology of the Rich and the Poor. [Different ways of Thinking, Speaking and Behaving]
A difference in psychology means that people think, speak and behave in different ways. What does a rich man think about? What is in the mind of a poor man? What words does a rich man say? How does the speech of a poor man sound? What are rich people busy with? What do poor people work for? These are the questions, which I will try to answer in this article.
Thoughts.
“A man is rich in proportion to the number of things which he can afford to let alone.”
― Henry David Thoreau, Walden
The great difference between the flow of thoughts of a rich man and a poor man is in the conception of sufficiency and lack. A rich man thinks about how to spend his time and money properly, while a poor man thinks about how to get free time and extra money. If you put both of them in equal conditions and give a thousand of dollars to each of them, it will not change their flow of thoughts. A poor person will think about how to get much more money, while a rich person will think about how to use the given money properly.
In other words, a poor person is the one, who does not know how to use the given opportunity. A poor man considers that he is lack of opportunities. He strives for getting an opportunity, but when he gets it, he strives for having more opportunities, instead of using the given one. In fact, poor people do not use the opportunities that life gives them. Therefore, they are always lack of time and money and do not feel themselves happy.
Speech.
“The biggest challenge after success is shutting up about it.”
― Criss Jami
“I have no time” - this phrase uses the person with the psychology of a poor man. Other phrases are: “I have no money”; “I am lack of”. Actually, a poor person feels a constant lack of something. It seems to him so. His speech is full of complaints and demands. It seems to him, that life is constantly depriving him of something. He feels offended by destiny, parents, neighbors, friends, and the whole world. To be true, he is aggrieved even with himself, repeating: “I am such a fool! I am so worthless! I am not able to do anything. I do everything in the wrong way”.
In addition, the speech of a poor man is overwhelmed with such wordings as “I must”, ”I have to”, “I need to”, “I ought to”. It means that he stands in the position of “a victim” or “a baby”, who is submitted to somebody or something that forces him to act. He feels himself under pressure of circumstances. That is why he is constantly struggling against the world. A poor person blames out loud somebody or something in his misfortunes. However, he does not realize that his words are the messages, sent to the Universe; and the Universe will react in return. “To break”, “to crash”, “to defeat”, “to destroy”, “to survive” - these are the words of a poor man. They show his internal struggle against the reality.
Surprisingly, but in spite of the fact that poor people suffer from the lack of money, they keep on saying that money is not important.
"I want", "I wish", "I am going to", "I plan", "I have decided"−these words are spoken by a rich man. A rich person feels himself free and dutiful. He never blames anyone for his failures and takes the mistakes as the opportunities to learn something new and to become better. A poor person, on the contrary, is afraid of failures. Any failure can depress the person, who possesses the mentality of a poor man. A rich person is not afraid of failures, because he is fond of learning.
The speech of a rich man is full of words of gratitude. He is constantly grateful to his colleagues, friends, parents and everybody. He never blames anyone, as he takes responsibility for every situation. He admits his mistakes and says: “Yes, that was my mistake. Thank you. I'll make it right from now on”.
Win-win strategy.
“You are not white,
but a rainbow of colors.
You are not black,
but golden.
You are not just a nationality,
but a citizen of the world.
You are not just for the right or left,
but for what is right over the wrong.
You are not just rich or poor,
but always wealthy in the mind and heart.
You are not perfect, but flawed.
You are flawed, but you are just.
You may just be conscious human,
but you are also a magnificent
reflection of God.”
― Suzy Kassem, Rise Up and Salute the Sun: The Writings of Suzy Kassem
Rich people always care about the interests of others, because they act by the win-win strategy. Rich men believe that there is always a solution of the problem, when both sides can be the winners. Therefore, rich men ask other people many questions to understand their interests better.
However, poor people do not believe in such problem solving. They believe that if someone wins, another one must lose. In other words, poor people consider that winning always comes at the expense of others. That is why poor people dislike successful persons. They believe that this success is achieved at their own expense. For this reason, poor people never ask any questions. They do not try to know their opponents better and to find the win-win solution.
Behavior.
“You will never be able to live with two kinds of people; greedy rich and arrogant poor.”
― M.F. Moonzajer
A poor man wants to feel safe, while a rich man wants to feel free. In other words, the psychology of a poor man is the psychology of a survivor. A poor person is always alert and tense. He is constantly surviving. He is very suspicious and is afraid to be trapped.
Poor people usually sleep much. They are omnivorous and promiscuous in sexual relations. They waste time on silly things, like watching TV or gossiping. The person with the psychology of a poor man may have many bad habits. This way, he remonstrates against the external environment. His bad habits reflect the fight against the reality.
A rich man tries to sleep less, consumes healthy food and does not waste time on idle talks. A rich man commonly tries to live a healthy lifestyle, works out and stays in good shape. A rich man knows, that “A good dress is the card of invitation, a good mind is a letter of recommendation”. That is why a rich man is always well dressed and good-looking.
A rich man is a good leader. Actually, even if a thief becomes the owner of a great sum of money, he will never become rich in mentality. He will always remain poor. It means that, eventually, he will lose the money.
My conclusions.
“If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.”
― John F. Kennedy
So, if you asked me: "What is the main difference between a rich man and a poor man?”, I would say: "A rich man is the one, who is always willing to learn and to change himself, while a poor man is the one, who is constantly waiting for the world to change for him".
And the last thing I wanna say here. An animal can not be rich. Only a human can be called rich. To be an animal means to devour the weak. To be a human means to help the weak.
My dear reader, I wish you always to be rich!
And if you enjoy this, you're welcome to follow me! ;)
Being rich or poor is just a matter of stance in your mind. I could agree if we are talking about one's mind, not property. I've met quite of poor people in means of money but rich in spirit. But as you said most of the things are interconnected with one's stance and view on life thus making him rich or poor, by any means considered either in money or soul.
Exactly. Rich is the one who satisfied with what he has.
Thank you, @leksimus! :)
Interesting post. Thanks for sharing. I believe your mindset and the language you use also makes a difference...if not to your bank balance, then certainly your outlook on life. I guess it depends on how you measure success.
I have been reading some of Florence Scovel Shinn's books...a bit dated now but the principles can still be applied...i.e. your thoughts and language shape your world.
Totally agree. And my personal experience fully confirms this.
Thank you for your comment, @kreativ!
There are some nice sentiments in this posting. Some interesting comparisons as well. Yet, there's a number of instances of the, "either/or" logical fallacy in the comparisons. Over time, my family has been both poor, and rich. The experience I gained learning all about the different perspectives of the rich and the poor enabled me to accept anyone, of any economic level, simply as a person, as a human being. For some, such acceptance is alien and begets suspicion. Others simply accepted me in return. Most of the time, there's little correlation between the responses of either rich, or poor. However, there are definitely differences in the thought processes of the two groups.
Generally, the rich seek to own assets (cars, houses, or anything really), that will appreciate in value. The poor seek to own depreciating assets that temporarily confer status, pretending to be rich even if for just a moment. Who would want to pretend to be poor? Unpretentious, yes. Poor, not really. I've got plenty of experience being poor. I have enough experience being rich that when (not if) my business achieves traction, I won't be risking an immediate return to the poor house learning the basics of being rich, and making the expensive mistakes many newly rich people do.
There is an evolution of one's thought processes that begins at the moment one's life " has gotten off of zero" financially. The rich are happy to explain the why's, and how's of retaining and building wealth, to the newly rich people but not to the poor so they too can become rich. This is a shame. Considering that in life, we're all in this together by ourselves, grateful is the man who was explained how the money game is actually played. For then he can play the game better.
Rich people can afford both the expenditures of the money, and the time to keep up their appearance. Poor people must commit huge amounts of their time, to be paid hourly, in order to survive. After almost a decade of the most assenine attempts at social engineering ever, neither rich or poor are one bit better to off for it. Especially the poor.
There's more to the story. But, its late. And the world wants what I've got. So, I better get some rest before the Sun comes up.
I hope that this has been worth your time. It matters.
@omfedor I love the article :)
Thanks, @margot! ;) Glad to know it.
TL;DR Poor people suck.
I don't agree with this article. I believe that the only difference between rich and poor is a number in your bank account. Just because a person is poor does not mean they are lousy negative people.
Let me also add that this might be a great opportunity to prove your point. If you can convince me that what your saying is true I'll upvote your post.
Well, everyone sees the world differently ;)
Thank you for your honesty, @kryptik!
Perhaps you haven't get my point. To be rich and to have a lot of money in the bank account - are two different things ;) Money does not make a person rich. His character does it.
I must have missed something or have taken this too literally. I apologize. I still however disagree certain with different parts. I'll give you an upvote.
It is really true, I see that many poor people say that money is not important but that is not true. We all need resources, we all need energy, and so far money is the only civilized way to distribute that resource in a civilized way without ganging up on eachother.