Five Reasons People Don’t Stay on Top

You and I have seen it time and time again:  people seemingly with everything going for them in their lives, lose it in what appears to be a total waste, or in a way that seems self-inflicted. The interesting question is whether these situations are avoidable, or are they part of the greater scheme of the universe in providing  “both sides’ of all experiences?  You know, the yin and yang: love and hate, loyalty and betrayal, sickness and health, wealth and poverty.

I’m not sure of the answer to this question, except to note that most humans eventually do get a glimpse of the polar opposites mentioned above, whether we like it or not. If we don’t experience these things ourselves we have friends or family who do.  The extent to which they experience these polarities depends on the individual. That said, there seems to be certain things to watch out for when things are going great and you are riding “high.”

 

1. The omnipotent attitude- It’s easy to feel that you can do no wrong when it seems that you can’t !   The Grateful Dead had a great line in one of their songs:  “When life seems like easy street there is danger at your door.”
2. Ego, ego, and more ego-  This is related to (1) above, but exists even before things are seemingly going your  way. Ego is probably the biggest cause of people’s downfall.
3. Lack of generosity- Your patterns of generosity were probably formed way before you reached the top. Now that you are there, however, you are in a position to be more generous than normal.  When you don’t take advantage of this, you risk being brought down. My ex-girlfriend’s father( rolling in the dough at the time), once said to a street person in NYC when asked for money:  “Why don’t you get a job?” From the standpoint of karma, not the smartest or best thing to say to someone, especially when things are great for you.
4. Buying into the illusion- Money is, like everything in life, an illusion on a certain level. It is an energy that comes and goes and transforms its form.  If you don’t recognize this, you can really get a warped perception of its value, and this causes you to behave in a way that brings you down.
5. The desire for more- We all want to feel like we have enough money, love, and friendship. This desire is only human. But constantly wanting more can mean that you have very little appreciation for what you already have. It is admittedly a difficult balancing act to achieve, because the desire for more, and bigger, is so ingrained in every aspect of our society. But being greedy is not usually rewarded, and often leads to loss.