Comparing Yourself To Others
Mine is better/bigger than yours
It’s probably something my kids are discussing as I type this…
Mike’s Blog 179
Humans, we are very interesting creatures. One of the bigger issues I have with myself and probably everyone on the planet is how we compare ourselves to each other. Why can’t we simply enjoy our life and what we are doing – if we have enough food and a roof over our heads isn’t this what life is all about? Why do we need to compete and compare and outdo other people.
So today’s topic (I know, random topics always on this blog) came from a Beijing journalist team visiting my house the other day. Wendy was in touch with them and they are interviewing foreigners in China and how they live/ make a living.
The reporter interviewed me (on a Saturday morning – no rest for a hustler) and had a list of questions.
You know what one of the questions was?
Something like this:
“So Wendy tells me you have a lot of successful and wealthy business friends, but you yourself are still struggling to pay the family fee, how does that make you feel?”
What the heck is that kind of question? At least it wasn’t live recording, it was editable. My heart stopped for a few seconds – jeez, like no filter here. But I guess it is good to face these things direct, why hide it.
My answer was something like:
“It depends on how you define success. If it is money in a bank account, then yes I am not the winner there – many more people are much richer than I. But if money in the bank was a driver for me, I would have stayed working in New York on Wall street and watch my bank account grow bigger and bigger. But my happiness would not. I know a lot of those successful business friends are not happy doing what they are doing. They do it for the money, they do it so they can use that to later do what they want to do. Always hear that, I am not doing what I love now so that I can do what I love later.
To me, that doesn’t make sense. And I am doing what I love now and sure, I’m struggling in it, but I am investing in myself, my career, and building a business and a lifestyle that I enjoy long term”.
Anyway, that was my answer. Life is a challenge – to do what you love – even when you have huge family pressure and life pressure and comparing yourself to other issues – you still need to persist.
I enjoy creating content, I enjoy connecting people.
But I think we will never be happy if we are always comparing ourselves to others. Plus I think a lot of people mask their true life purpose and identity. They do not want to share with others that on the inside they are not truly happy. They have a “front” where they show they are happy, because they don’t want to admit it to others – and even themselves – that they are not happy and fulfilled.
So for me, I just try to become better than I was yesterday, each day. Consistently learning and improving that is what life is about.
And also – some people get annoyed with my videos and my lifestyle. That is because you are comparing yourself to my life. That is not good. You should live your own life. And if you are not happy with what you are doing – you should do what I call the Steve Jobs test – look at yourself in the mirror every morning and ask yourself if you are happy with what you will be doing that day. If you say no too many days in a row- you need to change something.
And with that – time to get back to what I enjoy doing – creating more online content, traffic, and my values (mikesblog.com/5values) peace out!