The Reasons I Never Want to Win the Lottery

I want to preface this entire what I’m about to say by letting you know that you’re all going to think I’m absolutely crazy. You’re going to think that I’m probably the dumbest and most naive person that you’ve ever read. I can’t say that I would blame you for looking at me that way after what I’m about to say. But, hopefully, as I explain myself in a little more detail, you’ll begin to slowly work your mind towards thinking that I am at least a somewhat competent person.

So, here it goes… I don’t want to win the lottery. Yep, you’ve got your hand hovering over that back button, shaking your head, ready to stop reading this article right about now. Like I said, I don’t blame ya, I’d be ready to stop reading what sounds like garbage too. But, allow me to explain myself a little bit here.

These are the reasons that I don’t want to win the lottery:

1) When You Win the Lottery Your Life Changes Drastically

While a positive financial change in your life may seem like something that will get rid of all of the problems in your life, I’m here to tell you that your problems will just be beginning. The overall effect that winning the lottery will have on your life will obviously depend on how much you win. We’re not talking about winning $5,000-$500,000 here, we’re talking about the big jackpots. The $1-$250 Million jackpots where you become an overnight celebrity.

Your life will change drastically upon winning anything where it is well known and advertised that you won big. ‘Friends’ will be hoarding you with calls that ‘congratulate’ you, distant family members will all of the sudden become much less distant, and just about everyone or anyone that you know will be in your ear. Deciphering whether these people have good intentions or not is almost impossible and I can’t even begin to explain how stressful this experience will be.

If you’re someone, as I am, that takes a lot of pride in their current lives and the friends that are in them then you’re especially going to be stressed out. I know, I know, you’re thinking it’d be worth it and wouldn’t matter because of how much money you’ve just won. Take a good hard look at your life right now and how many little things are apart of it that you enjoy. What would your life be like if those little things and friends were taken away from you?

2) Loss of Once Close Friends

This subject was touched on slightly in the last reason, but I think it’s important to reiterate this point a little bit. We see over and over again what fame and money does to celebrities. The loneliness that comes with it can be incredibly depressing and people you counted on your entire life to be there for you will all of a sudden want little to with anything but your money.

Your friends are bound to become incredibly jealous of your luck and may even start to become mad at you. People don’t like when other people get incredibly lucky, as opposed to earning their wealth, because they see a mirror of themselves when they think about you winning it big. They think to themselves, ‘That should have been me!’ It becomes almost a subconscious negative viewpoint on your life.

The loneliness and stress created by this is a treacherous road to travel down and one that often leads to drug addiction and alcohol abuse. What would you do if your best friends turned into leaches, constantly leading every conversation into a talk about your money?

3) Absolutely No Privacy

When you win the lottery your privacy goes completely out the window. As I mentioned before, people will be all over you from the very beginning. The media will heavily advertise you as being the person to win the lottery and you’ll be bombarded with interview requests from every possible media source. It’ll be an absolute onslaught that seems like it’ll never go away.

I know that you’ve read this thinking that I’ve put an incredibly depressing view about what will happen in your life when you win the lottery. How could winning the lottery possibly be THAT depressing right?

I’m certainly not looking to shy lottery players away from continuing to play. Hell, it hasn’t stopped me from getting my two Powerball tickets every week. Hopefully shedding this light on some of the negatives of winning the lottery can give you a slightly different viewpoint on the type of responsibility and stress that comes with it. So play on lotto junkies, but just remember losing might not be so bad after all.