Poverty Consciousness

The Conscious Corner by Maceo Z. Keeling, Sr. –

Today our lives are under siege by many types of media vying for our time, our attention, our conscious, and our unconscious mind.

Overt and subtle influences profoundly impact many decisions that we make and our chosen behaviors daily. These facts are undeniable and irrefutable.

We could try to blame our society for these influences or make excuses for how we are programmed by the toxic barrage of messages we get every day from everywhere. But in this article I will share suggestions on how we can reprogram our thinking and renew our life. Before I proceed, please know that this is not a pronouncement on any racial group or ethnicity.

This brings me to my first point about Poverty Consciousness (pC).

Poverty Consciousness is defined by me. It is any behavior or lack of behavior in conjunction with acceptance of an unpleasant circumstance which you have the power to change but do not make the effort to change. Every individual is vulnerable to extrinsic programing that causes an acceptance of a bad situation, such as going to a job you hate. My attempt is to raise public and consumer consciousness to realize more of our own personal power to reduce the veritable brainwashing and browbeating that drags us into the quagmire of pC.

The first step to deprogramming and reprogramming your thinking is to talk to yourself. Words have power, and if you are not talking to yourself then you are missing a great opportunity to take back control of your thoughts.

You see, the world doesn’t dictate your success or failure. You begin to determine your fate by what you feed your mind. If you neglect to feed and direct your thought, then your mind will starve or be fed by someone or something else.

pC typically manifests itself in a few different ways. Do you gossip? Do you sow divisiveness instead of unity within your family, relationship, neighborhood, or community? Do you have a “crab in a barrel syndrome?” Do you acknowledge the successes of people close to you? Do you complain about your situation and do nothing about it? It’s okay if you’re broke, but are you broken? My mom use to say, “You may be broke today, but you don’t have to be poor too.”

In case you did not notice, pC has little to do with how much money you have in your pocket. It has to do with your character, integrity, whether you are compassionate, charitable, loving, sympathetic, and have empathy for others.

I’m writing about giving in permanently to a situation that is temporary. Do you accept that you’ll never make the changes you desire unless someone else does it for you? That’s poor. Would you rather stay home and get a handout than get a job and a hand up?

I’m just saying, if you can work, work it out! If you can think clearly, think it through. If you have words, pray about it! If you have heart, will, drive, desire, motivation, energy, good health, belief in your ability, faith in God, then stand up, show up, and stand out—because a setback is just a set up for come back!

Change your mind and rest will follow!

“Vision Is Not Enough – Clarity is Vital to Achieve Your Goals.” To book Mr. Keeling for speaking engagements, please phone (828) 989-6999.