Keeping up with our peers is something that most of us do unconsciously. We are all guilty of comparing ourselves to
other people. Self sabotaging as it may seem, we want a bar to measure ourselves up against. We justify our behavior by saying, “How can I measure how far I have come and what I have accomplished if I don’t have a standard to measure my accomplishments against?”
When we compare ourselves to others, we end up being sad. For there will always be something that we lack, something missing in our lives, something we want that someone else has. From this way of thinking stems discontent, and the seed of discontent grows so easily.
It’s easy to fall into a trap of comparing ourselves to others. Society tells us to be our own unique person. That we should do our own thing and not worry about what the rest of them are doing. Society loves the rebels, those who do things their own way. But sometimes, we just want to take a peek at what other people are doing, what they have, and where they are in their lives. All the while, not knowing what they have done to get there.
While trying to “keep up with our peers” throws in a good measure of competition into the mix, it should not serve as the sole basis of why we work and do what we do. The motivation to keep up with our peers should come from the fact that we want to be able to bring something to the table, to contribute to society, to inspire in return , to change our destructive habits and exchange them for something good for us.
If we must keep up, we should try to surround ourselves with people who inspire. Inspirational people are those who have seen the bottom and have come out of adversity scarred but not broken. Those who have the strength of character to overcome. Those who are unfazed by failure because they have gotten to know it intimately.
We should try to surround ourselves with people who create. People who create something with their hands, their thoughts, their talents are people worth keeping up with. They are a constant source of newness in a world that believes that imitation is the best form of flattery.
We should try to surround ourselves with people who motivate. There can never be enough encouragement to go around and these people seem to have an unending supply. What they give isn’t just motivation, it is faith – the belief that things are possible with just the right attitude. They give others hope that they can perform and thrive.
If we must keep up with our peers these are the peers we must find. These are standards that everyone must try to achieve, standards that make us better people which isn’t such a bad thing to be. Once we make a decision to surround ourselves with people who have strong moral and emotional principles, we find ourselves being those whom we admire.
Written by Jaie O.- The Help