INQUISITR.COM / News & Politics

Not A Powerball Winner? Tips To Help You Stay Positive About It

By Toni Matthews
Published on: 16:19 PST, Jan 13, 2016

When it comes to missing out on a massive Powerball jackpot, it can take anywhere from a few minutes to an entire day or two to get over the fact that you lost, or, as Gawker explains, that you probably weren’t meant to win in the first place. You spent so much time daydreaming about what your life would be like if you had a winning Powerball ticket. Now, someone else will be living your dream, and you’re a little (or maybe very) bitter about it.

Well, chin up! “Post-Powerball Depression” isn’t all that uncommon. Almost everyone else has had to breathe that same sigh of disappointment before setting their alarms and preparing for another day at work. If you’re having some trouble shaking your Powerball loss blues, here are a few tidbits to help you feel a little better.

First, of the millions and millions of tickets sold, almost every single one of them were losers or produced winnings that weren’t much to write home about. I mean, who is really happy to spend $100, but only come away with a $4 winning ticket for their troubles? The reality is that practically everyone lost, which means that you’re not in the loser circle by yourself. Feel better knowing that if you’re bitter about losing, so are millions of other people right now.

Besides, now we can allow ourselves to have a sense of humor about honestly believing we were going to be a multi-millionaire despite the ridiculous odds. Enjoy those hilariously accurate memes on Twitter dedicated to realizing you didn’t win.

Second of all, while it’s true that all the negative problems you imagine would have been fixed by a winning Powerball ticket are still around, so are the good things. The people who love you for who you are. The people who laugh at your jokes when they’re funny — and don’t laugh when they’re not. You get to be a genuine and appreciated human being who knows who your friends are.

No matter what challenges you may face after missing out on the Powerball, you’ll at least be able to face them with a true circle of friends. That brings me to my first grim point.

Not winning the Powerball means you’ll probably keep your real friends and avoid taking up with quite a few bad ones. In states where Powerball winners must be publicly declared, some not-too-nice people keep track of that information. Guess what? You’re more Google-able than you realize. Your name, phone number, and address can be considered matters of public record.

If it’s known you won, these people will make it their business to learn who you are, where you live, and how to reach you. You’d never have a moment’s peace. And that’s just strangers.

Can you imagine the chaos of dealing with pushy relatives, pushier acquaintances, everyone with an idea they want you to finance or ways to help spend your winnings? If you’re a nice person who has a hard time saying no, you would have been exploited in every way possible. You’d have no privacy, and between indignant relatives and con artist strangers, everyone would be plotting their way into your pockets.

Also, if you have any vices such as gambling or drug use, you will find that a great deal of income will only fuel your destructive tendencies. As mentioned earlier, you’d have people ready to exploit you, and the easiest way to make that happen is to keep you high or drunk — and not capable of making well-informed decisions.

It can be possible for a person who is otherwise sensible and sober to naively turn to drugs to help them cope with the pressure of wealth and expectations. Just be glad this is a reality that you won’t have to deal with.

Lastly, you should also remember that there’s no law saying that you can’t try again at some point. We just witnessed the first ever billion-dollar jackpot. Since the Powerball rules were changed to ensure large jackpots (and rare wins), odds are we will see huge pots like this shortly.

That gives you plenty of time to plan how to spend your Powerball winnings sensibly as to avoid meeting a tragic end like so many other lottery winners.

Are you struggling with “Post-Powerball depression?” Share your tips for getting over it and getting on with life in the comment section below!

[AP Photo/Alex Brandon]

Share this article: Not A Powerball Winner? Tips To Help You Stay Positive About It
More from Inquisitr