Gambling Can Hurt Your Business

Dr. Linda Hancock

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Hancock has written a regular weekly column entitled “All Psyched Up” for newspapers in two Canadian provinces for more than a dozen years. Over the years, her readers and clients have said that they have benefited from her common-sense solutions, wisdom, and sense of humour. Dr. Linda Hancock, the author of “Life is An Adventure…every step of the way” and “Open for Business Success” is a Registered Psychologist who has a private practice in Medicine Hat. She can be reached at 403-529-6877 or through email office@drlindahancock.com

Published

March 5 2011

All Psyched Up. | | Gambling Can Hurt Your Business | by Dr. Linda Hancock | Published March 5 2011 | Revised June 26 2022

© 2022, Dr. Linda Hancock INC.

If you are going to start and build a business you will need to be able to take a little risk but that is not at all the same as having a gambling addiction. You see, gambling can hurt your business for a number of reasons:

1. It robs your finances - People who have a gambling addiction will use whatever money they can access in order to feed this activity. Personal and business money is not immune. In fact, it might not take long until all available cash will be gone, loans taken and credit cards are maxed out.

2. It robs your time - When you have an addiction, most of your waking hours are spent thinking about gambling, participating in gambling and figuring out how you can do more of it. In fact, there is very little time for you to invest in your business.

3. It robs your attention - Gambling addiction captures your attention to the point that you can not do anything else.

4. It robs your reputation - People will not respect you as a business leader if you are not working on or in your business. It doesn't take long until people realize what you are doing and because it isn't what you are saying, they will not have much respect for you.

5. It will rob your relationships - Friends, family and other people who are most important to you will likely become fed up and decide that they cannot depend on you. You may have been lying to them and, at the same time, draining the finances. When they thought that you were trying to build the business, you were participating in activities that actually was doing the opposite. They might not want to trust you or depend on you to do what you promise to change,

But, the good news is that anything and anyone can change. It might take awhile until you can prove that you are reliable but, if you make a commitment to work with a professional to deal with the addiction and, from now on make your actions rather than your promises a priority, you will be able to win back the trust and respect that you might have lost,

You see, people generally are able to forgive but they need to be able to see changes that last over time before they are willing to let down their guard enough to do so.

Do what you say you will do and soon you will have restored everything that you lost.

All Psyched Up. | | Gambling Can Hurt Your Business | by Dr. Linda Hancock | Published March 5 2011 | Revised June 26 2022

© 2022, Dr. Linda Hancock INC.