We all compare to each other. Either consciously or unconsciously, comparison happens. This article attempts to display a different perspective on the matter of social comparison.
Why we compare to each other
We grow up in a social environment where we interact with different people every day. We have family, friends, colleagues, and acquaintances. Each one of us has a social circle.
No matter how hard you may try, you inevitably see what the others have and do. Automatically, you compare that with what you have. You see your best friend working in a company that you would love to work with. By doing so, you compare yourself with your friend.
The only possible way to not compare with others is not to interact with them. This includes social media too. When you live in an area with other people, either that is a gigantic city or a small village, the comparison is inevitable. All you can do is learn how to compare with others.
Okay for activity
Comparison is okay when it comes to activity, but it can cause problems when you compare your life with someone else’s. This is because it is not always fair to compare one another’s lives.
Not everyone has the same privileges and opportunities in life. This is why it is not easy to compare lives. On the other hand, when it comes to activity, comparison can be helpful. You can see what the other does, learn from him and do it better. After all, this is the whole point of business, economy, even growth.
Comparison can be a problem only if you yourself have a problem in knowing that someone is doing better than you. After all, it can be miserable if you constantly try to stay ahead of someone else. If, instead, you accept that someone is doing better than you, only then can you hope to become better and grow.
A source of suffering
You can suffer for various reasons. One very common one has to do with the way we compare to each other. Because we usually can’t help comparing, we resort to actions that we would otherwise never do. For example, because you see your best friends doing a doctorate, you also do that even though you never really wanted that in the first place.
Whenever you are forced to do something that you do not desire, you suffer that process. This is very common in our lives and it mainly comes because we mostly compare our lives and not our activities. The root of the problem is the way we compare to each other.
Another way you could face this issue could be a shift in your desires. Instead of desiring only a few things in life, you can desire for everything to happen to you. This is a message this blog tries to spread: to see everything that happens to you as an opportunity; or in other words, to desire for everything.
Takeaway
- Living in a world with others, it is inevitable to compare to each other. All you can do is learn how to compare with others.
- Comparison is okay when it comes to activity, but it can cause problems when you compare your life with someone else’s.
- Whenever you are forced to do something that you do not desire, you suffer that process. Instead, you can see everything that happens to you as an opportunity.