How Much Influence Does Your Environment Have On You?

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.