Theodore Roosevelt once wrote that “Comparison is the theft of joy.” He was and remains correct in that. Sadly in writing that, he did not say how to avoid it.
Comparison has a place in life no doubt. There are times when you need to compare things or results against other things or results to show progress. In many places, standings matter – like soccer league standings. That said, too many use comparison as a way of showing they are better than others, doing better than others, or as a way of keeping some below their station.
I compare things way too much. Am I earning as much as someone else doing the same work? Do I do as good a job at something than the person I perceive is better than I am? The worst part is when I compare myself to myself. I earn far less than I did 11 years ago. Back then I had a business, two thriving retainer clients, and quite a few non-retainer clients. Now I work for a company, but I am happier. Still I look at the dollar signs and see what I am not able to do now that I was before. Regardless of the joy I took in those past trips, doing those things in the past, it is sullied by my comparison of things I am unable to do now.
I am not sure how to get out of the joy-theft comparison loop, but I do know that I need to do so. I guess knowing is the first step.
Humidity
UGH! Can this heat dome/wave/crap end please? I don’t wish for snow, but I do wish for the 2,000 per cent humidity “feels like 40 C” crap to go away.
Three things
Something to read: More on how Comparison is the Theft of Joy. https://www.minimalismmadesimple.com/home/comparison-is-the-thief-of-joy/
Something to watch: Soak Up the Sun by Sheryl Crow.
Something to listen to: Man in Black – Johnny Cash
Final word: I was reading about a number of the radio and television reporters and on-air talent recently cut by CTV, Global, etc. and it reminded me of my first impression of radio decades ago… Dr. Johnny Fever. Yes WKRP was a sit-com and fiction, but the antics of that station exposed a lot of people, teens, kids, yout’, and otherwise to a radio station. For me, it was Johnny Fever saying “Booger” on the air. Even for TV, Booger in the late 1970s was “cutting edge”. Since this column is written today with a fan and an AC pointed at me, insufferable humidity, and all that goes with it… I say BOOGER!