Why I would never want to win the lottery

Although the thought will be appealing to most, and many will fantasise about winning the jackpot, I would never want to win the lottery. Money is convenient, but it is not important. At least, having more money than necessary to live in relative comfort isn't (yes, an HD TV is a luxury). Winning the jackpot would change so much about your life, whether you would want it to or not, that these drastic changes could make you very unhappy. They might not, depending on the things you value (basically, the more you value material things, the happier coming into a lot of money will make you, obviously), but I know I would hate it.

To clarify: I am talking about winning a lot of money, like €30 million or something. Winning some money, like €10,000, won't change anything worth mentioning about your life. You will have fewer financial worries, at least for a while, as you won't have to pay as much attention to what you buy as before, fearing to get in the red. This is convenient, and no one will really notice. (They will when you buy a Playstation 3 and they want to play on it.) Winning the jackpot, however, will change everything. For one, I know I would start working less, even after intending not to. But there will come times when I won't feel so good, and on that day I may not do any work, or do less, and do something fun instead. And this will not be a one-time event. Also I would probably make less of an effort to get assignments and all that. Most of this won't happen on a conscious level, but simply knowing in the back of your head that you have nothing to worry about financially would change things, whether you like it or not.

Consequently, for me, working less would result in me having less respect for myself. Buying things without having earned them would also make me respect myself less, and not enjoy the things I have bought. It would take away all the satisfaction of buying something knowing that my hard work has made it possible. Standing on top of a mountain in Norway because my hard work earned me this privilege makes me feel invincible, but travelling the world because I just happened to fill in the right numbers on a piece of paper would feel empty and pointless.

In addition to diminished respect for yourself and decreased satisfaction from otherwise 'great' activities or purchases, relationships with friends and family would deteriorate. It would make you see which people are your true friends and which people seek to profit when they smell money. Suddenly, people you hardly ever talk to would call you to ask you what's up, and finish with a request for some money, because they happen to be in a pickle. What a surprise...

Some people will claim that coming to know your true friends in this manner is a good thing, but I feel it is not. There are many people you can have lots of fun with, even though they may not be there for you when you're really in a lot of trouble. This is irrelevant for the relationship you have with them; after all, how many people can you expect to really be there for you when you're in a bad spot? Not more than a handful, like a few close relatives and one or two really good friends. But that doesn't mean that all the other people you know are total assholes you should not have any contact with. You could have fantastic, memorable nights with them. Nights that make you feel alive and enjoy life. Nights you will not ever forget. But never should you expect all of these people to have your back no matter what, and neither should you cast them out because of it. But it would happen if you were suddenly rich (even though I might take a while), effectively destroying those friendships.

The little changes would come first. People would expect you to pay for all the beer because they are poor students and you have money anyway. You could not really refuse, because if you did, they would think you selfish. And if you started doing these things, you would be the one paying for everything before you knew it. Which is no basis for any friendship. And things would get progressively worse. Friends would resent your ability to go on trips not one of them could pay for. And besides, whom would you go on trips with? If you wanted to go with one of them, you would have to pay for it because they couldn't, and depending on their character they would either feel guilty or exploit you. Or would you suddenly make rich friends and attend parties Paris Hilton would not shy away of? (If you would, please never contact me again.)

No, I would never want to win the lottery. Getting things for free doesn't build character, doesn't build your self-respect, and can make you a lazy, arrogant fool. I will be so much richer earning money through hard work and saving it to do the things I really enjoy. People will (hopefully) respect me for working hard like the rest of them, and I will respect myself. And if you're somehow convinced that coming into millions of euros is not a bad thing at all, ask yourself: how many euros is (self-)respect worth to you?