I am currently watching a TV Series called ‘The Haves and The Have Nots’…it’s written by Tyler Perry. Basically, it talks about a segment of the society where the people have comfort, riches and a great lifestyle
(The Haves) and another segment that’s filled with people who have very little but yet, are comfortable living in that box.
(The Have Nots).
Now you see, ‘The Haves’ are wealthy in that society and have so much power to do a lot and pull unimaginable strings. It is a little difficult to call them ‘good’ people especially when you look at all they have done and still have to do to maintain their standard of living and reputation in that society. On the other hand, ‘The Have Nots’ have very little and try really hard to have what ‘The Haves’ have. They want to drive the big cars, live in the mansions, get invited to high society events and a whole bunch of others but they are not willing to do the hard work.
An example will be a character called ‘Candace’. She is an escort and after spending one night with a federal judge, she feels he
should be her ticket to that lifestyle. When that didn’t happen, she decided to play the game like ‘The Haves’ play it. She tried blackmail, sabotage, espionage and she got beaten in that game.
Know why? She comes from ‘The Have Nots’! Her level of thinking has been greatly influenced by that environment and no matter how much she tries to play the game
like them, there will always be a part of her, and everyone else playing that game, that reminds them of what part of the society they all belong to; in her case, she will
ALWAYS be a part of ‘The Have Nots’.
That society was built in a way that ‘The Haves’ can continue to have and ‘The Have Nots’ cannot change their status so easily. The bridge between the two is extremely narrow and to cross over, you need to be able to play the game
EXACTLY like ‘The Haves’ and that means, you play it like you have something to lose
NOT like you have nothing to lose. They play the game rough and viciously because they can’t afford to live any other lifestyle besides their current lifestyle. Their environment constantly reminds them of how much they need to stay on top of their game so that they do not lose what they have. On the other hand, ‘The Haves’ have their environment to remind them of how much they need to stay on top, ‘The Haves Nots’ have their environment to remind them of why they need to cross that narrow bridge to get to ‘The Haves’…but no matter how much drive or fire they have burning inside them, they can only play the game
like ‘The Have Nots’.
Confused???
The environment you find yourself in today plays a key role in how you live your life. It plays a major role in how your mind and brain process things. A classic example would be an African man who has lived all his life in the US; his approach on some matters will be
COMPLETELY different from that of an African man who’s lived all his life in Africa. You do not expect that African man from the US who obviously sees water and electricity as basic amenities to understand why there is no electricity in the house and why there is no water running
ESPECIALLY when the bills have been paid. It is his understanding that when he pays his bills, the lights should be on and the water should be running and because of this understanding, instead of looking for a solution immediately, he would rather find out why after paying his bills, his lights and water were cut off. Now to the African man who has lived all his life in Africa, whether or not he pays his bills on time, if/when there is no electricity in his house or the water isn’t running, he will not be spending 1 second of his time trying to figure
‘Why’ , rather, he would go get a solution and that would be – turn on the generators so that he can get light and water.
My lecturer told me one time when I complained about a piece of academic advice I got from a colleague,
‘Erniesha, you can’t ask a millionaire for financial advice on how to manage a trillion, he will give you a millionaire’s advice.’
That means, a millionaire who lives in a millionaire’s environment has his mind programmed and influenced by his environment and as a result, he can
ONLY think like a millionaire
(no matter his level of exposure). A trillionaire will never get the best out of a millionaire.
Why? Because they live in different environments and have been influenced differently – they have
NO common grounds.
That’s how much our environment influences us.
About the author: Erniesha Tibs is a wife, a fashion lover and Reality/Personal Blogger. I am in my mid-twenties and currently doing my second degree. My passion for fashion runs in so deep that I decided to have my own fashion store and I call it ‘Tibs Wears’. I am also passionate about my blog which talks about anything and everything…from my personal life experiences to life as it actually is. Running a business, being a wife, updating my blog daily, being a student is not everything that is to this girl. I strongly believe in respecting people. RESPECTING OTHERS is what got me this far in Life. follow me on instagram @ernieshatibs. Links – www. everydaytibs.blogspot.com and
www.facebook.com/Everydaytibs
Photo Credit: Erniesha Tibs.
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This article was first published on 26th January 2015
Comments (16)
The haves and the have nots, really need to start watching that series, sounds so interesting…nice post as usual Tibs.
Yo! My girl is doing me proud. Nice write up mami and yes our environment has a way of influencing us positively and negatively but whatever happens, we should always make something good out of it.
Whoop whoop!
I’m first to comment here (?)
Congratulations, mami.You are really a blessed woman.
And yeah,environment has an influence on the way we live. Take for instance, Nigeria,where almost anything goes.
A person from say the UK,visiting Nigeria,can not sit down and watch the police harrass him and ask for money on top. But because we are used to stuff like that, we even allow our rights be trampled upon,even outside the shores of the country.
Beautiful post.
Keep doing you mami. 😀
**hail,hail Tibs**!!!..People from different environments do really have different perceptions.Your background does mould you a way or another.The Tv series you mentioned about make me metaphorically nostalgic about ‘A tale of two cities’-Charles Dickens.
I believe our environment shldnt be a determinant on ow far we ar going….. Nice post maaai
I believe our environment shldnt be a determinant on ow far we ar going….. Nice post maami
This is maaammmiii as usual.. The fact on “the have and have nots”… Lovely write up Tibs.. The sky is ur startn point Tibs.
Yayyyyy! Go girl,I trust you,*abinibi* is different from ability jare,great post as usuAl
I believe one thing, If you want to change behavior, start by changing the environment,someone said.”The first step toward success is taken when you refuse to be a captive of the environment in which you first find yourself”,so yea,I blv environment has a great influence on how ppl turn out
Ernie dear,more ink to your pen!
you go blessed woman..this is more like it..i am so proud to be associated with you.more grace!…….yes our environment plays a huge to role in our desposition towards life and issues..thorough write up..
This is a really nice post, A lesson to all, have an open mind and to those in diaspora, know what is going on within Nigeria.
Be current.
Ernie! This is beautiful! Of course I’m not gonna say this is an awesome post, you do awesome daily in TTT.
Environment has even spiritual implications on people, in developed countries you rarely hear people pray about demons, evil spirits etc but in developing countries that is the main prayer point.
Lovely writeup as usual Ernie! It’s as you said; we are conditioned by our environs. Even when things are bad here, we shake it off, say nothing dey happen, find a solution and move on. When you complain about receiving bad service, people wonder why you are surprised. Afterall; are you not a Nigerian? It can only get better.
Very well said
Kai!!!i came late o!!!all this FTC guys you think this is TTT???em!!!i have always had this in mind..seriously our environment affects us!
Una don dey fight for FTC here again. Nice post NIESHA. Environment matters in ones life.
…………
The usual capitalist that we learn in Economics and it thus exist….
Our environment truly influences us no matter how hard will try!!!! But like I read in the book “how Europe underdeveloped Africa”, soon the “have not” will have nothing to feed on except the “haves” lol so they had better change their ways and let the wealth circulate….
Tibs I see you!!!!!!