Do you know of anyone who wants all the recognition, fame, opportunity, and success all for themselves? They want everything – all of the attention, status, respect, and acknowledgment.
They don’t any of it for others – they want it all.
That’s greed. Greed is defined as the desire to get or have MORE than what you need – you want everything for yourself. You don’t want to have to share any of it with others. It doesn’t matter if you will inconvenience, hurt or offend other people. You’re so caught up with all your own needs and wants that you just don’t care about other people.
Why is it that there are people who are greedy?
Past Experiences
It’s possible that we had a previous experience wherein we were denied or shortchanged of something. This may come in the form of money, opportunities, or even love.
If you don’t’ allow yourself to get over these negative experiences in the past, it is likely that you will avenge yourself in one way or another. Subconsciously, you will also deny or shortchange other people of something. It doesn’t matter if it’s the same person who did it to you or not.
What matters is that other people are also able to experience the very same thing that you experienced. This is a natural, instinctive reaction.
Competition
There are times when we feel like life is a competition, and in order to satisfy our longings and desires, we will take advantage of other people and try so hard to get ahead of them.
Here’s what that looks like:
- You will take all the credit just so you will get promoted.
- You will jack the price of your items so you can earn more than the other shop.
- You will get all the food inside the ref because you feel like there won’t be enough left for you.
- You will immediately buy all of the latest stuff so that it would seem like the people around you are imitating you.
Fear
You’re afraid that you’re not holding on to anything.
You’re afraid that there won’t be anything left for you.
You’re afraid that other people will overtake you.
The problem with this kind of mindset is that because of your fear, you will start to obsess with the idea of being left behind or not having enough for yourself. You will become a hoarder. You will feel like nothing is ever enough, even if the truth is, what you have is already excessive.
Defense Mechanism
And because of fear of not having enough or of being left behind, your survival instinct will kick in.
What are examples of defense mechanisms of a greedy person?
- When you don’t get what you want, you will immediately look for a substitute;
- You will do whatever it takes to keep others from achieving that thing that you want for yourself – like promotion, salary increase, attention, power, or fame;
- Criticizing something that you want just so you can get it right away, or even for free Disguising the true intention
These are the kinds of people who say one thing, but mean something else. They would say things just so that people would give them attention and praise.
For example:
“You bought two phones? You must be so rich!”
“It’s a good thing that he turned our officemate in. It was because of his honesty that he was promoted.”
THINK. REFLECT. REPLY.
What are the things that you want so bad to only keep for yourself?
What do you think is the reason why you want to keep it all for yourself?
How can you practice sharing what you have with others?
