The Disadvantage Complex

March 24, 2009 by Milton Kamwendo
Filed under: Unleashing Greatness 

There are many keys to success and failure. A major key to failure is a condition that I call the “Disadvantage Complex”. This condition is responsible for most if not all human failure. While we cannot change the past, all of us can start today and create a totally different future. For many of us, the starting point will be to deal with the disadvantage complex. Here are a few things that make up the disadvantage complex.

Entitlement Mentality
People with this mentality go through life feeling that someone owes them a living. This creates an undue and unmerited dependence. Success only begins when we accept ourselves for who we are and face the brutal realities of our lives. To go through life thinking some people have it better than us is a source of disadvantage. Life is a do-it-yourself programme. It is true that other people may help us, but this should never be seen as a divine right. Each of us must take personal responsibility for our lives.

Negative Attitude
Attitude represents our habit of thought. While we cannot stop birds from flying over our heads we can stop them from building nest there. This is also true with attitude. While we cannot stop thoughts from fleeting past our minds we can choose the thoughts that we dwell on. Our lives will always glide in the direction of our dorminant thoughts. The Disadvantage Complex can be traced to a negative attitude that was not dealt with. To change our lives we have to start by changing our attitudes.

Procrastination
Intention is not action. Procrastination gives us the feeling of being engaged, yet we accomplish nothing and just heep up stress in the future. Procrastination is one of the tenants of the disadvantage complex. It is like sitting on a rocking chair. Although it feels like you are going somewhere, when the chair stops rocking you are where you were. Success starts when we decided to put away all excuses and take action. Things do not change through simple talking and hope. We can never build a reputation based on mere intentions that lack translation into action. Action is the eloquent language of achievement.

Excuses
All of us have excuses for not being what we should be. Excuses are the chorus of the disadvantage complex. Name any successful and great person that you know – each of them had some legitimate excuse for not becoming anything worth mention. Excuses abound be they personal, cultural, economic or simply laziness and stupidity. What is true is that excuses are a waste of time and a lazy crutch. Excuses hold us back and stop us from exploring our total possibilities. When we demand the best of ourselves and face our excuses we open doors to new possibilities. Anybody who has a disadvantage complex can be identified by their volume of excuses and complaints. Life does not reward excuses; it rewards action taken in spite of the excuses.

Impatience
In our age of instant solutions it is amazing to see the number of people who want to succeed without doing anything. Work is not a curse and impatience is not necessarily a virtue. Delayed gratification is an important key to success. Many people that have a disadvantage complex want to reap first then sow later. They want to play first then work later. This is contrary to the laws of nature. Anybody who aspires to reap where they did not sow is simply a thief. An old sage once said that the journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. Greatness is never a one hundred metre sprint – but it is a marathon. Greatness is a journey that is best taken daily. To desire fitness without training is self-deception. We have to patiently work our goals and daily we will see ourselves progress towards greatness.

The Dignity and Morality of Wealth
A major component of the disadvantage complex has to do with our relationship with and beliefs about wealth. People who have a disadvantage complex have a poor relationship with money. They believe that money is evil. They look at people who are wealthy with suspicion and scorn. Instead of celebrating other people’s success they always feel hard done by other people’s success and progress. The key to financial success is to deal with other belief systems. In fact most of our social problems can be reduced to one root cause – poverty. Poverty is not bliss. Change starts when we can desire to see as many people as possible prosper. The prosperity of anyone of us is bound to improve all of us.

To your greatness,

Milton Kamwendo

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Comments

4 Responses to “The Disadvantage Complex”

  1. James on March 25th, 2009 7:30 am

    Thanks for the good information but you seem to be blowing issues out proportion.I doubt if there are people in this century who treaty money as evil or being suspicious of rich people,you hit hard on the poor and appear as if it is the right of the rich to rid this world of poverty and that way abusing then(even an insane person cannot view poverty as bliss) - why then the bible say it is more difficult for the rich to enter heaven.I suspect that On Dignity and Morality of wealth you wrote that under the influence of rich person having a personal problem otherwise you messages are good…Keep up the good work and remember to write balanced views always.

  2. nomuhle on March 26th, 2009 9:46 am

    Article 232 still Nomuhle has not yey unleashed her greatness. Where am I missing it? You people are also too far and your motivational programmes normally run in Hre. Have more courses in Byo as well.

  3. Rev Maxwell Cedric on March 31st, 2009 10:09 am

    I liked the paragraph on excuses i kept on reading it again and again ,how true it is ,keep up the good work

  4. Bismark Kubalalika on April 1st, 2009 11:49 am

    Thanx 4 inspiring messeges…but am having a problem in registering so that i recieve your blog in my mailbox asand when u release them.Sm1 help me.

    “…for the Lord has done great things for us ,therefore we are glad…“Ps 126

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