With my kids it is all about comparisons – to each other that is. What did she get? Did he get more than me? Why can she do that and I can’t? The words I hear the most lately are “that is not fair”! Funny at times but mostly just tiring.
I think that we all have a tendency to compare ourselves to others whether it is looks, jobs, houses, educations, relationships or possessions. Do they have more money than us? Is she thinner? Prettier? Smarter? Many times, other’s lives looks easier and more effort free, but mostly it is because we don’t know what is going on behind the scenes in other people’s lives. From afar everything always looks better. And yes, my neighbor’s grass is definitely greener than mine 😉
When it comes to finances comparisons can both be a good and a bad thing. Good because it can make us work harder towards something, because if they can, so can we! On the other hand comparison can be dangerous as it can make us use money we don’t have to buy things we don’t really need – just with the purpose of having what they are having. And let’s face it; there will always be someone who has more than you and me.
I think that it is better and more productive to turn the focus to ourselves; what do I have that makes me happy and what do I need in order to move forward? Where am I compared to five years ago and where do I want to be in five years times? What is important to me and what do I need to get it?
That is a lot of questions but definitely something that I will be thinking about in the near future.
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