Greed May Be Keeping You Broke In Your Business

Living with greed may seem like the ideal way to get what you want in life, but a greedy mindset is a surefire way to lose what really matters most in life, which is your own happiness and well-being. The greedy mentality, which seeks always to have “more,” can have a significant negative impact on you. 

What Is Greed?

When you excessively desire to have more than you need or deserve in life, you have a greedy mindset. While greed is most often associated with money and wealth, you can also be greedy for love, power, status, attention, affection, food, sex, and just about anything that makes you feel pleasure. Each of us has specific things that make us feel good, and when you want these to the extreme, you may believe or act in greedy ways. 

For most people, a greedy mindset stems from negative experiences early in your life. If your parents abused or neglected you, if their presence was inconsistent in your life, or if you lacked for basic needs, this could lead you to feel the need to “hoard” possessions, money, or wealth later in life. Many times, the things we covet and collect are substitutes for those things we missed out on early in life. 

Your greed also helps comfort and reassure you when you are stressed, when you experience a loss, or when you are trying to fill an emptiness within yourself. We compensate for other negative emotions and longings in our lives by coveting and collecting things or experiences that distract us. This is the very nature of greed. 

The Drawbacks of Greediness In Business

While greed is often valued in economics and capitalism, it is not something that will likely help you achieve personal happiness and well-being. Greed is a form of fixation, and when you focus on one aspect of your life, others will naturally become neglected. 

When you have a greedy mindset, you may recognize that this behavior is not healthy and resort to hiding your actions and desires from others. Greed can also lead you to engage in all types of negative behaviors to attain that which you most want. These behaviors can be harmful to you or to others. Many people with a greedy mindset use deception and spite to mask their disposition and behaviors.

When you have a mindset run by greed, you will also likely experience stress, despair, and depression or engage in negative behaviors like gambling, stealing, or hoarding. Your reasoning and logical processes shut down in the face of attaining your heart’s desire, and you’ll do just about anything to get what you want.

You can never become truly self-actualized and reach your full potential when your life is run by feelings of greed. If you want to attain true happiness, you have to overcome the greed mindset. 

How To Overcome Greediness

Regardless of what it is you crave the most, it’s your intention that matters most. No matter what you are trying to amass, you must tackle the intention that drives your greed if you wish to overcome it. Your mind is what is driving your actions to collect your trophies. 

To change your mindset from one of greed to one of generosity, you first have to distinguish between selfish thought and greedy action. You can still WANT something without actually taking it for yourself. The first step, then, is recognition of your greed, your actions related to your greedy mindset, and how these affect yourself and others.

Once you have a better handle on this, you can start practicing letting go of the selfishness and choosing options that are good for others rather than yourself. When you see the greed arising, see that it’s there, move past it, and make a different choice that doesn’t benefit just you. 

There are always choices, in every situation, and the longer you practice selflessness, the easier it will be to say goodbye to your greedy mindset. Doing a kind act for others and seeing how much your generosity can benefit someone else’s life, is another excellent way to stop thinking and behaving in a greedy way. 

Letting go of greed is an excellent way to find peace, satisfaction, and happiness in your life. When you surrender the need to amass things or experiences in life, you can start to enjoy all the other aspects of being alive. Learning to overcome greed is, indeed, the path to better abundance in life.

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