Competition in the workplace and sports makes everyone better.
Competition in every day life can make one bitter.
Why can’t we just run our own race? Why can’t we work together to achieve prosperity, harmony, and community? Why must we always size each other up, establish a social pecking order, and then spend valuable time and energy tearing each other down in order to make ourselves feel better?
We are commanded by God not to covet, yet we spend most of our waking hours comparing ourselves to others. We fall short of our expectations mainly because we are so wrapped up in someone else’s version of what makes life worth living. Our self esteem is based on our bank account balance, what we wear, the kind of car we drive, and where we reside. There is always someone who has more, which drives our wasteful consumerism and drives us mad.
Everything is relative. Woman process thoughts such as “she is prettier, she has a nicer body, she has a wealthy husband, her kids are perfect, she seems to have no problems.” Men process thoughts such as “He has a hot girlfriend, he has the nicer car, he has better toys, a bigger house, a more lucrative career.”
We romanticize others. Why? Perhaps because the media has convinces us that we need more in order to be happy. As if there was such thing as a perfect life!
Blessed is the individual who can stop and say, “My life is awesome. I may not have everything I want, but I have everything I need.” Gratefulness leads to contentment. Contentment creates harmony and balance. Isn’t that what we really desire?
Some suggestions when you start to feel down because you don’t measure up:
- Work each day on becoming the best you you can be.
- Make decisions that are right for you and the ones you love.
- Focus on the beauty of the here and now.
- Count your blessings daily.
- Catch yourself when you start to compare and ask yourself why it matters how others are doing. Listen carefully to the answers.
Saying the silent “thank you” when you wake up in the morning is quite possibly the best way to start your day.
Next time you find yourself wishing you were someone else, stop for a moment and wonder what you aren’t seeing. Perhaps that beautiful woman has a dying mother. Perhaps that rich husband is a horrible control freak. Perhaps that big house is a few months from forclosure. Perhaps those perfect kids do drugs with their buddies. Perhaps that financially successful person is spiritually bankrupt. We can’t see behind the close doors, we haven’t walked in the other persons shoes. We view life through a lens tainted with our version of what is desirable.
So when you find yourself coveting, remember…
Perhaps they wish they were you!
