DAY 243 - I AM ME AND YOU ARE YOU...

Day 243

Last Monday morning, I attended a year-end breakfast for my youngest daughter.  This event was meant to celebrate the end of grade 1, show our appreciation to the teacher and socialize with other parents.  As I arrived, I overheard a conversation between two parents.  One of them was telling the other: "Yes, I loved grade 1.  The house is so much quieter now... My son goes into his room and reads novels on his own!"  Lucky you!

My house is not any quieter!  My six year-old daughter doesn't discreetly go into her bedroom for two hours to read a novel!  She still has tons of energy and, although she is a good reader, she is not reading Dostoievsky just yet.  And I personally think it's quite normal.  However, as she was talking, I did wonder if, by now,  my daughter should be reading more on her own.

Many of us tend to compare ourselves to others.  It probably helps us define who we are.  In Canada, I'm neither rich nor poor, I am part of the middle class.  I know that by comparing myself to others.  If I were living in Africa, maybe I'd have another perception of where I stand socially.  Defining who we are is a very relative concept. 

Studies have shown, that comparing yourself to others can really be a source of unhappiness; that is of course, if you are comparing yourself with someone who you deem as being better off than you, which is what most of us do.  Comparing yourself with those who are worst off could actually help you become more grateful for what you have.

The problem is if you keep focusing on everyone else's life, you’re going to stop paying attention to your own goals.  What is more important than finding out how other people do things, is figuring out what you want to do with your own life and work towards it. 

The beauty about getting older is that you don't get sidetracked as much anymore.  You know yourself better, so you become more confident about your choices.  And you also become aware of all the wasted energy you could spend on looking at what others have, and developing feelings of envy or jealousy.

Everyone has a unique journey... all you have to do is find out what yours is.  And then, comparing yourself with others will most likely simply become irrelevant.

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