Keeping up with the Jonasson's

We live in a world where we are obsessed with keeping up with others.  We want the best house or the best car or the best job or the best marks.  We're always looking over our shoulder to make sure we are one step ahead of our neighbour or friend or colleague or sibling.  Life is one big competition.  It is so hard to see what we have rather than what we don't have, to be content in the here and now.

Rob had a friend in university who claimed that he never worked very hard at school.  He questioned Rob, a straight A student, as to why he was trying so hard.  Rob finally said to himself, "Why am I trying so hard?" So, in third year, he didn't put in a full effort.  For the first time since arriving at McMaster, he slipped off the Dean's Honour List.  Rob's Mom warned him about his friend, saying that he was jealous of Rob and that secretly he was trying hard to earn better marks than him.  The following semester, Rob pulled up his socks; once again, his name appeared on the Dean's Honour List.  His friend, realizing that he couldn't compete, dropped out of the Honours program.

Rob's Mom was a wise woman.  We have to be wary in life of "friends" who want to bring us down.  We need to watch out for people who are so competitive, that they are constantly criticizing others to elevate themselves.  Friends should rejoice with us in our successes, not just wallow with us in our failures.

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