Views:680 | By: Wanjiru | Act: Visit Business Have you ever thought about the difference between poor and poverty? Being poor is when you earn an income that does not fully meet your needs or necessities. But poverty is when you cannot even afford to provide the basic necessities including housing, food and clean water.

Lets focus on poverty.

People with poverty are considered vulnerable to mental illness eg. depression, anxiety and addiction. This is because affected people have very low levels of confidence in themselves, making them have a belief that they cannot succeed. Poverty brings something called the “scarcity mindset” which simply leads to all time stress causing depression.

A person with the psychology of poverty is afraid of change, they live having it in mind that it is better to have a little that is assured than taking a new challenge and losing everything. People like this just want to live in their comfort zone, not that they are comfortable but they do not want to try new waters. If you take a close look at your village there's a couple of people you can relate to.

A common characteristic dominating in people with this problem is that they have very low self-esteem. Lack of understanding that wealth and prospects are available to active people who wake up, get dressed even if you have one khaki pants and t-shirt, and show up. Work smart but not hard.

The poor spend their strength not to attract , but to retain. They spend hours visiting different stores comparing prices just to end up purchasing the cheapest stuff comforting themselves “provided I bought food and clothes” quality is for the rich ours is quantity.

Last weekend I took a very serious evaluation and I came to the conclusion that one of the things I need to fight in order to succeed is the psychology of poverty. As Nelson Mandela said “Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice. It is the protection of a fundamental human right, the right to dignity and a decent life.”