Make yourself bigger without cutting others down to size
No matter how tall I try to stretch, I am about 5’ 9”. I suppose it could be worse, I could be 5’ 8” or shorter–not that there is anything wrong with that; I just would like to be a bit closer to 6’.
Early in life I realized that standing next to shorter classmates may work to make me look tall by comparison, but no matter who I stood next to, I was really no taller or shorter, but rather just appeared to be taller or shorter based upon who I chose to stand by at that particular point in time.
As I grew older, I saw many friends fall into the trap of comparing themselves to others in an effort to appear figuratively taller. I, too, often fell into this trap. This form of what I refer to as the cancer of comparison is not a good place to be, yet many folks live here.
Making someone else feel smaller about themselves in no way serves to make us bigger, no matter how small we cut them down. Nonetheless, we see this happen time and again. People feeling inferior work to cut someone else down to size in an effort to make themselves feel better about their lack of success or current station in life.
Life is full of small people trying to make others smaller so they can appear large. This tactic may work in the short term, for a bit, but it is not an effective long-term substitution for personal growth. Don’t fall prey to this offshoot of the cancer of comparison, rather spend that energy building yourself up without tearing others down.
Chris Matheson, CEO
