‘Look at him, he studied so hard and he’s always at the top of his class! Learn
something from him!’
‘Look at him, see where he’s reached in just 10 years! He’s the CEO at a
multinational company at the age of just 40! He should be an inspiration for
you!’
‘Look at him, he’s middle-aged but so fit! So slim! So good-looking, always
immaculately dressed! Everyone admires him! Maybe you should take some tips
from him…’
‘Look at him, despite working in middle management jobs, he’s still managed to
buy three big cars, three apartments in Gurgaon and a 4BHK flat in Bombay! He
has investments in stocks and mutual funds and he bought a massive plot of land
in Goa last year! You really should learn something from him!’
‘Look at him! He was so overweight but he’s managed to lose 20 kilos in just
one year! If he can do it, why can’t you also lose some weight?!?!’
‘Look at him! He takes his entire family on a foreign vacation every year! He
buys gold jewellery for his wife every year on her birthday! They go out for
dinner at five-star hotel restaurants every weekend! Why can’t you also… …’
And so on. And on. And on. Here in India (and for all I know, maybe also elsewhere
in the world), we love to compare. For example, we think we can ‘inspire’ our
children to study harder and do better in class by comparing them with other
children who are doing very well in school or in college. We think we can trot
out examples of people who are doing very well in life and by doing so, inspire
(or shame?) our children / brother / sister / spouse into working harder,
earning more money, buying a bigger house or a bigger car, or otherwise upgrading
their lifestyle.
Does it ever work? If you ask me, the answer would be definitely not.
Comparisons are odious. And more often than not, the only thing they ‘inspire’ in
the person who is at the receiving end is, at best, indifference and contempt,
and at worst, actual hate for the person they’re being compared to.