Comparatives…

We do a fair amount of comparing ourselves to other people or other things, true?  That’s OK I suppose, but it’s the context of what we’re comparing ourselves to that matters

I was at a book signing recently and one of the grocery store employees came up to my table for a brief chat.  He was curious how I accomplished getting into the store as an authorized vendor.  I explained it was… like most of my life’s good fortune…  coincidental.  That’s when he said:

At 57, I'm not where I should be.

Tom

Then he went back to his tasks.  Not only did I wonder why he said what he said but I wondered what his context was.  Not where he should be in his career?  In his relationships?  In his health?  I never did find out.

Not all comparative thinking needs to be so deep.  Here’s a comparative from Jeremy Goldberg:

COURAGE: is knowing it might hurt, and doing it anyway.

STUPIDITY: is the same.

And that’s why life is hard.

Regardless if it’s keeping up with those Joneses; looking at that greener grass; or comparing that  proverbial glass, context is important:

Whether the glass is half empty or half full depends on whether you’re drinking or pouring.

Anthony Boxer 

Our favorite, Unknown Sage emphasizes context is especially important with glass:

Cirino's Law of Burnt Fingers:

Hot glass looks the same as cold glass.

We are probably going to continue our comparative thinking; I think it’s unavoidable.  However, if we start down that half-empty path, we should change the context… to pouring perhaps.

                                                            GAP

When life gets tough we could get a helmet… or… we could leverage the peace and share the power of a positive perspective.