As I am prone to do, I just started asking Josie questions about how long she had been in collections and how it was going for her right now. She said she was frustrated that her income was going down every month. She also said that she had to work twice as hard, make twice as many calls and be more aggressive than ever when trying to collect on unpaid debts. (Note: Collections agents most often get paid on commission for the money they are able to collect)
Assuming this was a result of the economy, I said ?Yeah? there are a lot of people struggling out there right now!?
Almost indignant - Josie blurted ?That is NOT it.?
?What do you mean?? I asked.
?Many of these folks are telling me that they could pay but they're waiting to see what happens with the government stimulus package.? She increased her volume as she continued? ?They wont pay because they think the government's gonna help them out!?
I was shocked at what she was telling me but I could tell by her disgruntled disposition that she was telling me the truth. I got the feeling that she was upset because these people WOULD not pay and it was making so that she herself COULD not pay her own bills.
This wasn?t my first encounter with the attitude that so irked Josie. Recently, I have seen several people who were capable of paying their mortgage payments, simply stop paying because they too felt the government would ?help them out.? They were willing to give up good credit (assuming they had it) in order to cash in on some handouts.
I tried to find the lesson in my conversation with Josie. Here's what I came up with: Perhaps natural consequences and rewards drive human behavior more than stated moral beliefs. I'm sure this is not always the case (I hope not) but it's an important idea to examine.
Why pay my debts if there is truly no consequence for not doing so? Why pay my mortgage if I have a promise that someone will keep me in my house if I quit writing checks?
The rewards issue is equally valuable. Why work hard, take risks and put myself on the line to be successful if I am punished for doing so? Why be generous with my time, talents and finances if it's decreed that I am required to do it for the good of others. Rules do not increase my compassion and drive to help others, freedom does. The satisfaction of helping another human being grows deeper when it's accompanied by the opportunity for that person to confidently go on to success. Even more when I know that his or her success will one day help someone else succeed. Now to me? THAT's a reward. That's a reason to be successful in my life.
0 komentarze:
Post a Comment