Or "Most lottery winners end up being miserable"
This are both false beliefs, but somehow majority of people believe them to be true. While in reality, most lottery winners end up doing better then ever. And that they are bettering the lives of themselves and their family.
There are at least 2 psychological reasons, that i believe to be a reason, why we tend to believe the opposite:
1: Jealousy:
Winning can happen to anyone, even people who least "deserve" it. So our subconscious mind reasons it for us in a way that makes as satisfied. If we believe they should pay a price for winning, it's easier to accept our own loss. It can be partying too much, getting robbed or being betrayed by closest friends, or being miserable and lonely. If we think that there's some terrible price to pay for winning, that makes losing seem like a better option in a long run.
2. Propaganda:
We tend to believe that people who play lottery go broke because of he same reason they were broke to begin with. And that's being irresponsible with money, so they lack skills to keep the money.
This is propaganda created by rich people. We tend to believe it's all hard work and mad skillz in finances, while biggest reason for anyone getting rich is actually correct circumstances. May rich people had right people around them, and often started with financial extra boost. Or that they just were insanely lucky, buying something that ended up mooning. But rich people rarely admit this, because if being rich is part of someone's personality, they need to be proud of it. Otherwise they would have to rethink their own accomplishments.
Sure, financial skills and hard work play a part, but that doesn't mean anyone with those would get rich. There are numerous reasons for that but i will sum it up to "correct circumstances".
Stories we hear and headlines we see also fuel this belief, because those are the kind of stories being shared and getting clicks. Not the ones where winners are doing just fine, and living a comfortable quiet life.
I share just one article about this belief, even though there are probably many:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnjennings/2023/08/29/debunking-the-myth-the-surprising-truth-about-lottery-winners-and-life-satisfaction/
This are both false beliefs, but somehow majority of people believe them to be true. While in reality, most lottery winners end up doing better then ever. And that they are bettering the lives of themselves and their family.
There are at least 2 psychological reasons, that i believe to be a reason, why we tend to believe the opposite:
1: Jealousy:
Winning can happen to anyone, even people who least "deserve" it. So our subconscious mind reasons it for us in a way that makes as satisfied. If we believe they should pay a price for winning, it's easier to accept our own loss. It can be partying too much, getting robbed or being betrayed by closest friends, or being miserable and lonely. If we think that there's some terrible price to pay for winning, that makes losing seem like a better option in a long run.
2. Propaganda:
We tend to believe that people who play lottery go broke because of he same reason they were broke to begin with. And that's being irresponsible with money, so they lack skills to keep the money.
This is propaganda created by rich people. We tend to believe it's all hard work and mad skillz in finances, while biggest reason for anyone getting rich is actually correct circumstances. May rich people had right people around them, and often started with financial extra boost. Or that they just were insanely lucky, buying something that ended up mooning. But rich people rarely admit this, because if being rich is part of someone's personality, they need to be proud of it. Otherwise they would have to rethink their own accomplishments.
Sure, financial skills and hard work play a part, but that doesn't mean anyone with those would get rich. There are numerous reasons for that but i will sum it up to "correct circumstances".
Stories we hear and headlines we see also fuel this belief, because those are the kind of stories being shared and getting clicks. Not the ones where winners are doing just fine, and living a comfortable quiet life.
I share just one article about this belief, even though there are probably many:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnjennings/2023/08/29/debunking-the-myth-the-surprising-truth-about-lottery-winners-and-life-satisfaction/
There is a reason that one of the first things that lottery providers will do is point winners towards financial advisors, not in the aims of getting anything out of it like a commission, but purely because it is such a necessary step for most people who wouldn't have the first idea what to do when a massive pile of money lands on their lap. It is the least that a lottery provider could do and in actual fact, lottery winners have some of the lowest chances of winning of any gambler, which if they are unaware about might mean they don't understand how the odds work and could get taken for a ride by lots of people after a huge windfall like this. An advisor should steer them in the right direction and help prevent silly losses.
