I’m writing this post after a wonderful Shultz hour in front of the Sicilian sea.
I had been looking forward to this moment – a celebration after a tough but rewarding month, which ended with a very successful event on legal wellbeing (more than 400 attendees 🤩) and a lovely fresh fish-and-wine dinner with the speakers.
But the truth is, last night wasn’t easy. I spent a couple of hours frantically scrolling the news on my iPad. War winds rising after the Trump/Vance/Zelensky episode. Polarization flooding my social media feed. The Pope on the edge of dying. Too much. Just too much for my mind.
And, like most times when I leave my mind rambling, it felt into the negativity trap. This time, it started playing the comparison game.
I mean, comparisons are natural.
Maybe someone is living a wonderful love relationship, and yours fell apart.
Maybe someone has a happy family, and you don’t.
Maybe someone has a better career, a better salary, a better… everything.
Now, Zen teachings, self-help books, and self-declared gurus usually tell us two things.
Number 1. Don’t compare yourself to others.
Number 2. Compare yourself to who you were yesterday.
And I have to say, they make sense. Your life is different. Your career is different. Your very cell structure is different. I’ve lived by these rules. I’ve applied them. And they work. 90% of the time. But there is always that lingering 10% that don’t.
You know how it works, right? The mind is a bitch, and she tries to mess with you.
But something clicked for me a year or two ago.
I started doing a little trick, and I want to share it with you.
Now, take a breath and try this.
Think about a world where two billion people lack access to clean water.
Think about a world where 733 million people go hungry every single day.
Think about a world where 50 million people live in modern slavery.
Think about a world where more than 50% of people live on less than $5,000 a year.
Think about a world where billions have never seen the snow or the sea.
Think about a world where several billions people never traveled outside their country.
Think about a world where 92 countries are at least partially involved in a war. Right now.
Think about a world where most of people never felt the presence of God in their life and struggle alone.
That’s the world we live in.
And then, just like that, you feel thankful.
The comparisons fade away.
The trick maybe, ain’t stopping comparing. Or comparing with yourself.
It’s comparing with those who have less.
Your mind tried to screw you. But you outplayed it.
