How to get rid of greed: reasons for its occurrence, ways to eliminate it

One of the most famous people on the planet, Indian public and political figure Mahatma Gandhi, said that the needs of any person can be easily satisfied, since the world is very large, but it is too small to satisfy human greed.
So what is greed, how does it appear, and is it possible to fight it, and if possible, then how? We’ll look at it in more detail later in the article.

Greed and psychology

What is greed and how to get rid of it? This is an insatiable selfish desire that is difficult to control. The faithful companions of such a negative quality are: stinginess, greed, gluttony and greed.

Greed manifests itself in a person when he lacks something . Some experience a constant lack of money, things, emotions, everyone has their own list. In fact, behind the lack of something lies a lack of human intimacy, which people try to fill with excesses of a different nature.

First, understand the reason for the manifestation of greed or stinginess. Human psychology is complex and not fully understood. According to some studies, a person uncontrollably spends money on unnecessary things due to depression, which is his faithful companion.

This primarily affects the psychological state. Dissatisfaction with life leads to psychosis. At the same time, immunity decreases, the person experiences constant weakness and often gets sick. Such a person gradually turns into a whiner for whom everything is always bad. So, the common causes of greed are :

dissatisfaction with life;
non-acceptance of one's personality;
feeling of emptiness;
feeling of worthlessness;
depressive state.

Why do people strive so hard to build a career and become famous? There is an answer to such a simple question: to earn a lot of money. But behind all this is a simple human need for love, which pushes people to rash actions.

Proverbs about greed

Our ancestors, seeing the results that greed leads to, came up with many instructive sayings for future generations in order to protect them from common mistakes:

If you chase two hares, you won’t catch either.
Not for yourself, not for people.
The stingy rich man is poorer than the beggar.
Fur coat lies there, and he himself trembles.
The dog lies in the hay - and does not eat itself, and does not give it to the cattle.
Self-interest blinds the eyes.
There is nowhere to put the money, and there is nothing to buy a wallet with.
Money to a miser is like hay to a dog: he neither eats nor gives it to others.
I am ready to sell my own mother for money.
He looks into the coffin and saves money.
There is a cow in the yard and water is on the table.
I don’t make noise myself, nor will I give it to anyone else.
It is not the one who has little who is greedy, but the one who wants more.
Stingy as bees: they collect honey and then die.
For nothing, it will go away by steam.
You'd rather beg milk from a chicken.

Greed. Synonyms

In the Russian language there are many synonyms for the word “greed”, which reflect the destructiveness, and most importantly, the stupidity of this vice.

For example, “gluttony.” The synonym reflects the fact that human greed is limitless and cannot be satisfied.

Another indicative synonym is “tightness.” That is, a greedy person squeezes everything to himself. And it looks stupid and strange.

“Greedy”, “stingy”, “gluttonous” - this is what they say about a greedy person, reflecting all the negative character traits that appear when a person is overcome by greed.

How to become greedy

Greed is a trait that appears in a person as a result of negative experiences and erroneous conclusions regarding a particular situation. It can be triggered by the following factors:

improper upbringing;
lack of funds;
social discomfort;
distorted perception of the world and so on.

The psychology of greed has forced Chinese philosophers to work hard. They are sure that greedy people are deeply unhappy people . There is a simple explanation for this: greedy people never value what they have, but are constantly dissatisfied with what they do not have.

Possible consequences

All mental disorders have consequences for the body, so you need to get rid of stinginess at least for the sake of improving your health. During the experiment, patients were asked to take a test on the topic of economics and finance, the main purpose of which was to determine the level of a person’s stinginess. As it turned out, the more greedy the patient was according to the results, the more diseases were discovered in him. Greedy people face the following problems:

hormonal imbalance;
skin diseases;
stroke;
hypertension;
heart attack, ulcer;
gastrointestinal diseases;
neuroses;
insomnia.

All these diseases occur many times more often than in non-greedy people. At least for this reason, it is worth getting rid of greed as soon as possible, before the process of disease development begins.

What is greed

This vice makes many forget about entertainment. Living for the sake of earning money, but not spending money on pleasure is an unforgivable mistake. After all, money helps you experience all the delights of life, it contributes to exciting travel, self-education, development, and so on. Don't deny yourself some fun.

The psychology of greed forces a person to save on almost everything: entertainment, clothing and even food, which in the future necessarily affects not only the emotional level, but also the physical. It has been proven that cheap things do not live up to their expectations. It is better to spend money on one good quality item than to purchase several, but of dubious quality.

Real stories about human greed

Excessive greed sometimes takes the form of a pathological dependence on money. A person, despite the fact that he has already managed to “make” a decent fortune, continues to save, depriving himself of all the joys of life. And such examples of human vices can be found not only in books, but also in real life.

The story of Henrietta Howland Green (also called the Witch of Wall Street), who lived in the United States at the beginning of the 20th century, is very instructive. She was a famous financier who earned a huge fortune. She lived in rented apartments all her life and heated dinner on the radiator so as not to spend extra money. But the most striking example of Henrietta's stinginess can be considered the case when her son had to have his leg amputated because she spent several days looking for a free hospital. Naturally, she had money for quality medical care, but she didn’t want to spend it to cure her child.

Another curmudgeon known throughout the world is John Paul Getty. As an oil tycoon and one of the richest men in America in the mid-20th century, he always wore the cheapest suits and skimped on the upkeep of his home. He even installed paid street machines in his mansion, believing that his guests were talking too much on the phone, and this was a “impressive” expense item. But he became famous because of another incident. When criminals kidnapped Getty's grandson, asking him for a ransom of $17 million, the tycoon categorically refused. After some time, he was sent a parcel containing his grandson’s ear and a lock of hair. As a result, Getty nevertheless gave a small amount, and the criminals released the young man. But he died some time later from his injuries.

Incompatible things

Happiness and greed are mutually exclusive concepts. To find happiness and peace, you need to get rid of the destructive feeling of greed . This feeling appeared back in the days when people were forced to fight for their survival. Greed is part of the human subconscious, it will be very difficult to eradicate this feeling.

People in the modern world have changed only partially; when talking about self-development, many do not even think about getting rid of their negative feelings and thoughts. The primitive instinct of survival can be safely put on the same level as greed. Many individuals strive to purchase something they saw from friends. Is it really needed? Most likely not, but the psychology of greed makes you forget about common sense .

Meanwhile, American scientists call greed a kind of engine of progress. If it were not for this feeling, many people would be content with little and would not strive for development. Perhaps the saying is appropriate here: everything is good, but in moderation.

Signs that appear

The fight against greed must begin at an early age. Children are greedy, take toys from each other, and do not like to share things that are valuable to them. In adulthood, such people strive to earn more and more money, buy more things, making unnecessary purchases or saving exorbitant amounts of income for a rainy day.

Constant crimes, robberies and murders are a “race” for wealth. All this is the consequences of an uncontrolled love of money. Under its influence, arranged marriages are created, which give rise to a huge number of problems, both for the spouses themselves and for their children.

A pathologically greedy person saves on everything and everywhere to the detriment of his health and comfort.

Absolutely useless things begin to appear in the house, and attempts to throw away old trash die in the bud.

Rescue from greed

Learn to give and not expect anything in return. Love for life, whatever it may be, will help you get rid of envy and greed. Cave habits will fade into oblivion if you give people what they need and what you have in abundance.

You can overcome any challenge if you have people around you who want to improve like you. The bad thing is that people have forgotten how to be generous, even if it costs them nothing.

The world provides opportunities, you just need to make an effort to get what you want. This is the rub, because some people will shamelessly take it from others rather than build it themselves. This lifestyle has devastating consequences. True happiness does not depend on material capabilities, it is found within a person who is confident in his abilities and the people around him. Be honest and positive with people around you.

How to overcome stinginess - procedure

For a person who has decided to eradicate certain shortcomings and vices in himself, namely not to be greedy, nothing is impossible. But you should get rid of the problem that has arisen correctly, guided by recommendations from professional psychologists, starting with small things.

Awareness and acceptance of reality

No one can help a greedy person if he himself fiercely resists and denies the evidence of the vice. A simple four-step test will help you determine whether the problem actually exists.

You need to answer yes or no to the following questions:

Will you put money aside for a rainy day if you win the lottery or find a certain amount?
When you find out that someone has won a large amount of money, do you think about where you would spend it?
If you have money in your wallet, do you often refuse to buy something for yourself?
After purchasing something, do you regret the amount spent?

If the answer to all four questions is positive, then there is cause for concern.

It is necessary to analyze your life, thoughts, actions and realize that there really is a problem, and it is necessary to fight it. In the end, all people are sinners.

Awareness of consequences in the moment

It is unpleasant to communicate with a greedy person; as a rule, he has almost no friends. The source of greed is usually “black” and negative thoughts and emotions - you want to have more than others, both materially and morally. The success of colleagues or loved ones is a personal disaster!! The main goal is hoarding! And no sense of proportion...

Greed:

blinds a person;
forces you to make numerous mistakes;
prevents you from making the right decision;
normal contacts with people are practically impossible.

It is necessary to look at yourself from the outside - a person is not immortal, and you cannot take everything accumulated with you to the “other World”. Is it worth spending precious time and money on “ridiculous” actions, bad thoughts and “utopian” hoarding?

Maybe it’s time to reassess values and identify family and friends, selfless good deeds , development and self-improvement as the main priorities. Otherwise, you can turn into Tsar Koshchei, who “...languishes over gold...”.

Understanding the Possible Consequences

A person obsessed with greed cannot be calm; he is either oppressed by the fear of losing everything, or he aggressively strives, no matter what, to get something that is “too tough for him.” This leads to moral and physical burnout - a person seems to be not living, but burning with a fire of dissatisfaction all 24 hours a day, day after day, year after year.

Medical scientists conducted an interesting experiment. Patients were asked to answer questions related to financial and economic topics. The purpose of the experiment is the level of human stinginess. The result turned out to be the following - the greedier the respondent was (according to the results), the more pathologies and diseases were discovered in him.

Among them:

stroke;
heart attack;
dermatitis, allergies;
hormonal disorders;
insomnia and neuroses;
ulcers and other gastrointestinal diseases.

These health problems occur many times more often in greedy patients than in people without this vice. This is a strong enough argument to start getting rid of greed without waiting for serious health imbalances.

Cleaning the space around you

Psychologists recommend adopting new psychological attitudes . They must unconditionally dominate the old "unhealthy" dogmas, for example:

If “I” give something to someone, or share something, then it won’t make me any worse!
Experts call this principle the “boomerang” effect - to those who do good, it will definitely return. And with this installation you can clear your house of unnecessary “junk”.
The next attitude is that the greed of “Me” destroys, it turns on a self-destruction program in me. I will not give in to her, I am stronger than her, because I am a person. I get rid of it - I mentally write the word “greed” on paper and throw it into the fire. The paper burns, and so does greed. I am a clean, strong and renewed person.
If you repeat these attitudes mentally every day, then on a subconscious level they will take root and become a common and natural outlook on life in general.

Regularity is one of the main principles of using psychological attitudes, otherwise getting rid of greed will not be effective.

Development of deep feelings

One of the most effective methods of “healing” from greed is mercy; try to help more people around you, especially those in need. This practice, according to scientists, very quickly helps to get rid of the vice.

It could be:

attention to elderly relatives - confidential conversation, tea drinking with symbolic gifts;
a trip with your child to the circus, zoo or skating rink, with a stop at an ice cream parlour;
helping a friend repair his car, setting aside a couple of hours to go with a friend to the store to pick out a jacket for her (which she alone cannot find);
treatment of a stray cat or dog;
attention to strangers - perhaps small transfers to children in need of treatment (this could be a symbolic amount - 100, 200 rubles).

A wealthy person can become a philanthropist (a word almost forgotten at present). It is enough to remember P.M. Tretyakov, the founder of the famous gallery, to understand how necessary this is for the fatherland.

The main principle is do not expect gratitude, you “give” not in order to receive something, but from the bottom of your heart, just like good deeds are done. Such actions increase self-esteem and self-respect appears.

The need to share moral assets

Who will benefit from the fact that a highly skilled master, for example, in pottery, takes the nuances of the creative process with him to the grave?

An excellent help in treating stinginess will be the selfless transfer of your knowledge, skills and abilities to people. then it could be:

transfer of experience to the younger generation;
volunteer movement;
helping the infirm, orphans in a boarding home;
participation in the work of a charitable foundation.

Having become familiar with and realizing how large the “field” of activity is for “moral help,” the once greedy person will rapidly change and “reborn,” bringing benefit to others.

Getting rid of “grounding” to material goods

Psychologists advise eradicating pathological attachment to material things.
Someone has collected a huge library, and cannot get enough of it - he “takes care” of the books, wiping literally every page from dust, but it’s a pity to let a friend read it!

Some people have their grandmother’s favorite set (which is 100 years old at lunchtime), but you can’t eat or drink from it, it’s a shame! And the greedy mother’s baby has (accidentally) stained her “favorite” blouse, and the kind mother is ready to tear the child to pieces...

You should remember that nothing lasts forever, just like you yourself, and the rule “I carry everything I have with me” is not relevant in another world. But what really matters are relationships, feelings, positive emotions.

Look at situations from the other side:

offer books to your friends to read, and they will offer you theirs;
Serve Sunday lunch with grandma's set and invite friends and family - and you will get a lively, warm, unforgettable day;
Don’t frighten your child with your anger because of a soiled blouse - maybe you didn’t put it away in time, but the child is just learning about the world.

A page in a book is torn, it can be glued back together, and dishes break; fortunately, stains on clothes in the 21st century can be easily removed. Get rid of attachment to material things!

Healthy pleasures

A greedy person denies himself everything, even proper rest, if it concerns vacations or banal days off.

And sometimes, according to experts, simple gatherings over a glass of wine, a cup of coffee or a milkshake with friends are a great way to relieve stress and nervous tension at the end of a working day or week. A cheerful, relaxed atmosphere will give you a lot of positive emotions and healthy pleasures.

Necessary and reasonable expenses

An experienced greedy person can be so imbued with his vice that he will cause harm not only to himself, but also to those around him, especially his family.
It becomes unbearable to live with him - he will refuse to buy necessary things, medicines, food, both for himself and for family members. This is already detrimental to the health and nervous system of loved ones.

It is necessary to radically reconsider your behavior and views; if necessary, you can use the services of a professional psychologist. But we must not forget that the health and peace of your family and friends is something that you must protect:

If you need to buy your child a good bed or a table for lessons, then you should do it and not delay it, otherwise you may become guilty that due to a poor sleeping/working place the child will have problems with posture, for example, scoliosis.
Even a completely healthy person needs nutritious nutrition - if you greed money to buy quality products enriched with minerals and vitamins, you can soon get serious gastrointestinal problems, etc.
A greedy person was prescribed glasses, but he spares money to purchase them, the result is that the problem worsens over time, his vision becomes even worse.

You should look at emerging situations wisely, learn, and not skimp on yourself. It is advisable to keep a diary where all necessary expenses will be entered (in the plan), which can be decided positively in accordance with the receipt of funds.

Simple truths

Remember once and for all: the more you give, the more you receive. Just don’t do good in anticipation of a miracle; only selfless deeds will bring benefits.

To cope with dissatisfaction in the soul, you need to turn into a useful, kind person. Learn to rejoice at the very opportunity to give to people, no matter what, your feelings or material things. Dissatisfaction with oneself and the world around us provokes the manifestation of greed. Selfless deeds will help you get rid of the psychology of greed and envy.

Causes

The development of pathological greed is impossible out of the blue. You should look for reasons in your past.

Feelings of fear and uncertainty. Constant fear for your future and the possibility of losing everything contribute to the development of excessive thriftiness.
All-consuming desires. The main thing is to appear, not to be. In this case, a person spends a lot of money on things that emphasize his imaginary status. He becomes a hostage to his desires, which are increasing every day.
Lack of love in childhood. The void, the place of which love should have taken long ago in childhood, is now, as an adult, filled by a person with things that are interesting to him.
False values and beliefs. The concept inherent in childhood that everything in the world is limited and there is not enough for everyone provokes the habit of accumulation and the fear of giving or spending something.

Why does male greed manifest itself?

You didn't fall in love at the start of the relationship. To make a man feel needed, important, cool, you give him love, tenderness, affection and inspiration. And if at the very beginning you acted as if he owed you, then you will not receive anything in return.
They did not accept gifts or advances. At the cafe we split the bill, at the cinema we bought tickets ourselves, we even bought groceries for his house. Why spend money on you when you don't need it?
Not the same reaction. For any gift or sign of attention, a man expects feedback. Even flowers from a flowerbed can be accepted with a smile. And if you grumble all the time or your smile is unnatural, then you don’t want to give gifts.
I want more of everything. Even if a man is very rich, he is unlikely to buy a car in the first month of dating. Give him time to gradually increase the budget. Otherwise, he will feel that you only need money from him.
Negative experience. Either previous women made mistakes and he consolidated this experience as the only correct one. Or there is an attitude from childhood that a woman only needs money from a man.
A different love language. He shows love in a different way - attention, help, beautiful words or something else. Maybe your husband just doesn’t know that you want that ring as a gift. Just talk about this topic, maybe he will understand everything.
You have taken the position of a Child in a relationship with a Man. They take care of the child, give him gifts, give him money for expenses, make decisions for him, bear responsibility for him, protect the child. But they also punish him, put him in a corner, deprive him of gifts, reject him and ignore him if he behaves “badly”. This is how a man’s psyche works towards you when you are in the position of a child in a relationship.
Expectation. You always expect a man to encourage you and give you money, attention, help and care. And get angry at him when he doesn't give.

Trusting God is accepting God as your Savior

—What is “trust in God”?

— Trust in God is absolute faith in Him, it is acceptance of God as your Savior. Trust in God arises, first of all, from a conscious, meaningful understanding of the fact: God is the only authority, the only power, the only creative force that ensures my existence.

Listen to what the Lord tells us about, including about greed through his apostles: “do not be lovers of money,” “do not place all your hopes in earthly, seemingly good accumulations,” because they will not help you. Lay up riches in heaven: “Whatever you have done for your neighbor, you have done for Me.” And by collecting wealth only for ourselves, without helping any of our neighbors, we ourselves block the path to that eternal beauty that the Lord has prepared for us.

What is holiness? Holiness is the feat of becoming like God, becoming like God in those acts of mercy that are defined by one word - “love.” The Holy Fathers are precisely those images and examples that the Lord calls us all to imitate, whose example we must follow if we want to correctly understand life and develop correctly. Because there is no other way, there is only a dead end into which our stubbornness, arrogance, our understanding of life, inspired by the Antichrist, leads us. We must decide in life, choose our path, overcome all difficulties, come to God, unite in Him. Greed, on the contrary, divides, separates us, turns us not even into animals, but into demons.

We can become like either God or the devil. So, it is better that we become like our Creator. So that, with His help, we return to His image and likeness, in which we must all abide - according to the plan of the Creator Himself. We were created as His image and likeness, and what we are today is far from His image and not His likeness. This is the image and likeness of anything else, but not a reflection of God. We can become the image and likeness of God only within the framework of the rules that the Lord communicates to us through Jesus Christ, assisting by the Holy Spirit to improve our life here to prepare a person for eternal life.

Greed. Greed…

Greed and selfishness

These two vices are very similar and imply a thirst for profit, the desire for personal gain. Let's turn to the Holy Scriptures. The essence and aspirations of greedy people are well described by the prophet Amos: “Hear this, you who hunger to devour the poor and destroy the needy - you who say: “Someday the new moon will pass so that we can sell grain, and the Sabbath, so that we can open the barns, reduce the measure, increase the price of a shekel and to deceive with untrue scales, to buy the poor for silver and the poor for a pair of shoes, and to sell the grain of grain” (Amos 8:4-6). The tenth commandment of the Decalogue is also directed against greedy people; it is also called the boundary commandment between the Old and New Testaments. The first nine commandments talk about what not to do, and the tenth repeats several times: “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife” (Ex. 20:17) - thus, she relates sin not only to the sphere of actions, but also to the sphere of internal desires and aspirations. A self-seeking person, as the Psalter says, “pleasers himself” (Ps. 9:24).

These vices concern not only the area of a person’s personal life, but cause significant damage to one’s neighbor, so we see that the Lord is angry for them, strikes (Isa. 57:17) and even takes revenge (1 Thess. 4:6). It turns out that greed and covetousness are such disgusting and destructive sins that the punishment for them is spoken of directly in both the Old and New Testaments. This fact alone should force those who are inclined to commit such crimes to refrain from committing such crimes.

In confronting passions, it is important to remember one patristic ascetic principle: every vice is eradicated by the opposite virtue. But, as we know, sin always begins with a thought, therefore St. Isaac the Syrian, and after him our compatriot – St. Nil Sorsky transfers this principle into the sphere of the mind. They say that if we notice a thought filled with greed, greed for the quantity of a desired object, then it should be immediately replaced with a good thought. It is interesting that as a good thought, the saints do not mean the thought of mercy or almsgiving, but the arousal in ourselves of the memory of malevolence, which will fill us immediately after satisfying passion. One clarification needs to be made here. If a person discerns a vice in himself and thinks about fighting it, it means that he has a sinful experience that weighs him down and from which he wants to get rid of. Let everyone remember themselves. While passion is not satisfied, it looks attractive and sweet, but as soon as we follow its lead, we are immediately overcome by a feeling of spiritual dirt and regret about what we have done. At such moments, conscience simply incinerates us, but after some time the sharpness of its “gaze” dulls, and passion gains strength again. We are sick with sin, and therefore are not able to immediately, by an effort of will, stop the action of passions, but we still have a memory - a memory of how bad it was the last time we again followed the lead of our own vice. It is this memory that the reverend fathers suggest that we extract from our minds as a replacement for passionate thoughts. In this way, sinful experience can be, so to speak, processed and used for good.