Revelation: something revealed or disclosed, especially a striking disclosure, as of something not before realized.
How many of us in Canada (or the US or UK or any other developed country) understand how incredibly lucky we are?
I’ve just started reading Malcolm Gladwell’s book, David and Goliath, and the revelations in it are staggering.
For example, the notion that so many of us have had about going to the “right” school for a post-secondary eduction has, for generations, set many up to fail. He sites case after case where kids who’d been wizz kids in their high schools had gone on to ivy league schools and failed because they couldn’t keep up. His proven premise centres around the fact that we are hard-wired to compare ourselves to our peers. At Harvard you could end up a small fish in a big pond. Compared to your classmates you may even begin to think you’re not too terribly bright.
When you look at that same condition, comparing yourself to your peers, you can see how many of us in the developed world tend to whinge and complain about our own situation. “I don’t have enough money, time, friends, toys, etc…”
We find things to complain about all the time. Even when we have reached the goals we’ve set we find something else to complain about. “My kids are too spoiled. My car isn’t cool enough. My dog has fleas.”
I have often found it useful to inject a little perspective into my life. Sometimes I’ll take a drive downtown to see just how bad some other people have it. I like to watch TED talks to find inspiration. I meditate and try to keep calm about the things that I can’t control.
It’s not always easy to remember that we have it great here but if you take a page out of Gladwell’s book and try to stop comparing yourself to your peers you may find that you move through life with a little more grace and happiness.
So my New Year’s Revelation is to make sure that Social Media Canada stays true to its business philosophy; help others, be socially conscious, be an active participant in doing good works.
Bring it on 2014! I can’t wait to see what adventures you have in store for me.
