With the way things are going in this country (Nigeria), more and more people would be compelled to cut down on their consumerism behaviors whether they like it or not.
While I was with a friend today for a visit, we debated innumerable things, but it all revolved around the state of the economy.
To make it entertaining, we also like to take a turn on what we would do if we were in the position to change things.
What would you change?
The government or your behaviors
canva
The situation of this country is mostly viewed to be the fault of the government (especially the president himself), but if we are being honest, most of these things aren’t all their fault.
For example, take a look at how some individuals (mostly young adults of today) with enormous amounts of money waste away all on gambling, alcoholism, and consumerism.
For a person like that, is it the number one citizen of the country that's in charge of making such decisions for him?
You create your reality
Government fault or Not
There was a kind of debate between me and my pal, and he finds it difficult to agree to disagree.
To him, he vividly sees the government as the sole problem we are facing in this country. However, I see a disconnection among communities and individuals as the main issue that gives rise to false perceptions of what’s morally OK and what is Not.
So I shared a real-life story about someone he knows but doesn't know about this particular story
Then he went nuts
It was about a friend who was worth nothing less than 20M Naira a few years back (around two years ago).
Fast-forward to today, he’s homeless and now has to bounce around from one friend's couch to another just to be able to gather enough money to get another apartment. The truth is that he could’ve set up his life for good back when he was financially okay… In fact, I told him about Hive, ETH and BTC when he was still well-off but he never saw my opinion as a valid one.
Before you think he was dealing dope or something sinister, let me clear that, he's not.
The money was actually an inheritance from his late parents.
They had a farmland that was worth a lot, but instead of him managing this farmland as the only son and child, he decided to sell even when he was advised not to by family and friends. He never listened, nor was he planning to invest the money into something lucrative or anything with an ROI.
Immediately after he got the cash, he became a consumer who only gave money out, with no means to create another inflow of money, no matter how little it was.
Whenever his friends have parties to attend, he’s always on the first list to be invited.
From the onset, I knew he was setting himself up for failure because I’ve seen this type of scenario play out many times. At times, I just ask myself how people miss the warnings of an impending doom repeatedly. I know spending money at the club and weekend parties is fun, but having an inflow from somewhere while doing so helps keep brokenness at bay.
The Compound effect is always working
Work on making it work for you, not against you
Every so often I think we can blame governments for not providing jobs, but at the same time, we as concerned citizens can find a way to sustain ourselves without having to rely on already corrupt institutions to direct our lives.
To some extent, we are to blame because we crave things we shouldn’t crave and end up biting more than we can chew.
The way things are, many people are now fed up with the country as a whole, and some are even fed up with life.
Nevertheless, anyone trying to impress by living a lifestyle that he's not yet up to is allowing the compound to work against him. And when the shit hits the fan, he’ll keep thinking it's the government's fault for not providing a safe haven for him when he could've carried his cross and let the compound effect of generating little inflow over time do the rest.
What are you doing?
Working or Blaming…
You choose.
