Do not play the lottery

The motivation

We all know lotteries: Pay a little, and have a (very small) chance of winning lots. Now what are you playing the lottery for? Is it the thrill? Is it the money? Is it that you also automatically give to charities (that the lottery advertises with) when you play? Truly ask your self, what is your motivation? It has to do with money, as no lottery would exist without it, and lots of other things in life have more 'thrill value' then playing the lottery. So you motivation must have to do with money. Next thing is, what is happening, or going to happen, with the money that is in your motivation? Will you donate it (all) to some good cause? Will you keep it for yourself? Will you spent all the money on health care for some one else its illness? Pick out the motivations that are good, and pick out the motivation that are related to selfishness. Make your picks. To which of the two is your motivation more related? My guess is that you would like to have the money so you can pay all your bills, never work again and even buy the things you otherwise never could have bought, just for fun, like a sports car or whatever. If this is true then you should really read to the end of the article.

So whats wrong?

In short: your motivation is wrong. Read on to found out the why. So what is wrong with playing the lottery to win a lot of money? Inside that motivation lies expectations. The expectation that lots of money will make your life more pleasant. And that expectation, of money making your life more pleasant, stays as long as you play. How subtle, far away or unimportant that expectation may seem, it is there, as long as you play. Therefore playing the lottery automatically each month is worse than buy a lot just once.

What is wrong with that expectation?

"Your life will become more pleasant when you have lots of money"? True or false? If you feel that this is true, but you wisely say false, you are fooling yourself. If you think or feel that this is true, then please read on.
By having the expectation, that money will make your life more pleasant, you instantly have a mental blockage to a higher level of happiness. Lets suppose there is an ultimate level of happiness, just for this example. Then how would you ever reach that level of ultimate happiness if you think that there is something out there than can still make you more happy? You can't logically be 100% happy if there is that thing (a lottery in this example) that you expect to make you more happy. You see? It is plain logic. All that is required to make you as happy as possible lies within your own mental power, right now, at this very moment. Now of course there are things that you may expect to make you more happy, and of course you may have a desire for that to become reality. That is not the point. The point is the out there aspect in one of the the previous sentences. It implies that there is an external factor that can make you happy, while the truth is that, all that is required for happiness lies within.

Make your pick

You have a choice, belief that the money will make you more happy then you are now, or belief that all that is required to make you more happy right now lies within your own mental power... Which one do you choose? Contemplate about what makes you truly happy in life, what is really important. The things that matter aren't just important to you, they just are. You do not get to decide whether good health (mentally and physically) makes you happy or not, they just do, for everybody. Don't you agree? Then imagine the opposite is the case...  The wiser pick will sure lead you to more and more happiness as you go. Will you still play the lottery with the motivation and expectation that money will make your life more pleasant... ?