opkwave.blogg.se - What is the opposite of joy

These folks tend to say things like, “If I grew up with a silver spoon in my mouth, I’d have that job too,” or “ They’ve had it so easy. Some tend to silently judge the people that they compare themselves too. Social Comparison is relatively common among most people, but how it manifests in each person is widely different. Actually, it’s more like a deadly cliff with jagged rocks below, and if we stand the edge looking down for too long, we’re likely to slip and fall over.

Are they just all-around better than me?.

How does he or she make so much more money than I do?.

When we stop using Social Comparison as a tool for growth, we begin comparing ourselves to others in a negative way. It could also prove to be an effective tool for self-motivation and positive self-image, but more often than not, Social Comparison is truly the thief of joy because it slowly erodes our happiness over time. Now, when Social Comparison is used for good, people might find it to be a valuable tool for furthering their self-improvement. More on this in a minute, but if you’ve ever heard something like “my son is in the 95th percentile for his height” or “my daughter’s test scores are in the 98th percentile for her age group,” then you’ve seen social comparison in action. In fact, we’ve been trained to compare ourselves to other people since childhood.

It’s true! “Run your own race” might be a famous adage but, we as people cannot help but compare ourselves with other people. Research shows that more than 10% of our daily thoughts involve making a comparison of some kind. However, if you were to look around and find that nearly everyone was ahead of you, you’d feel behind, maybe even miserable and worthless.

In other words, if you were to look around and see that you’re ahead of almost everyone around you, you might feel pretty good about yourself. Have you ever heard of the Social Comparison Theory? If not, perhaps you’ve heard President Teddy Roosevelt’s old saying, “Comparison is the thief of joy.”Īccording to Psychology Today, Social Comparison Theory states that “individuals determine their own social and personal worth based on how they stack up against others.”