Flash of inspiration alert: How often do you analyse yourself or others?

How often do you compare and evaluate yourself and others?

From my experience, we analyse and compare ourselves all the time. We often feel bad because we think that others are “doing so much better”, even though we don’t know how they are really doing.

How can it be that Michael Jackson or Robbie Williams kill themselves? When most of us think what a great life they had and we would gladly trade places.

There is an English proverb that says, “The grass is always greener on the other side.”

It means so much that when we compare ourselves, it brings us suffering because we are never satisfied with what is present. It is a lack thinking.

However, often only a little perspective helps.

Perspective on one’s own position.

Perspective on the other person.

This change of perspective helps us define terms like “success”.

Would you agree that Elon Musk is successful?

Most of us would say yes and yet the assessment from our perspective is not possible because we do not know what drives Elon Musk.

If we equate success with money, as is so often the case socially, then he is successful. However, if we knew that his goal is to see his children grow up in peace, we could claim that Elon Musk is as successful as an alcoholic quitting drinking.

In order to make an assessment, we need to know the intentions of the person opposite. Without this, we cannot make assessments and thus comparisons.

And even if we knew the intention, what does a comparison bring us. In the best case, the insight that the person lives in harmony and unison with his or her goals.

Now some would think, then I must find out how he does it and then I “copy” that.

Again, this is just as harmful as comparing, because each of us lives with different intentions in a different context.

So it really doesn’t do any good to compare.

We only harm ourselves and build up inner frustration.

It is like a self-dismantling.

In many of my friends I observe these destructive whirlpools of thoughts that, viewed objectively, have absolutely no value.

Why are they there?

I don’t know. It doesn’t matter either.

I only know that comparing is of no use to me – just as little as advice from others if it is only based on thoughts and not on experience. I have to find answers for myself and cannot expect them from anyone else – except from the deepest silence of being.

It is the place where there is no brooding. It is the place of stillness from which occasional flashes of inspiration arise to show us the way.

Here’s to the next flash of inspiration.