The Theory of Relativity! ;)

When Einstein came up with the theory of relativity, little did the old chap knew how relevant it is in the field of human relationships, more than in physics! Man is a social animal.. We live in society and have bonds with every human we interact.. Some of these bonds are strong and everlasting while others are weak and short-lived.. Irrespective of the kind of bonds we share, our need and habit of comparing ourselves with others and see where we stand with respect to them is ancient and may be even pre-historic..  It is this habit that is both instrumental to our growth and detrimental to it if we get too obsessive with this theory of relativity..

Most of our wishful thinking also arises out of our habit of implementing the theory of relativity to our everyday life.. "I wish I could land a great well-paying job like him", "I wish I was beautiful like her", "I wish I had happy endings like fairy tales".. All these wishes are nothing but our perception of how happy others are with what they have and how happy we would be if we were in their shoes.. But do we ever stop for a second and think if that great job of your friend is actually stopping him from having a life? Do we ever think that may be the beautiful girl is actually scared of going out alone because she's afraid of being eve-teased or even worse? And above all, do we ever think that most of the fairy tales don't start with a happy starting (finally some similarity with 'real life') and that if the author ever wished to continue the story after the 'happy ending', he would most certainly introduce more troubles for the main characters and push them into the vicious circle of problems, despair, hope and finally solution, just like it happens in normal human life?

Wishful thinking and comparing yourselves with others is not a bad thing.. Afterall, its only when you see someone achieving something that you've always desired, that you truly start working towards achieving it.. When you see someone having something that you once aspired for, you truly believe that its attainable and that may be you weren't putting enough effort into achieving it.. Hence, comparing ourselves with others and striving hard for our so-called 'happy ending' is not a bad thing.. In fact, its very necessary for our growth and development.. The trouble starts when we get too obsessed with winning and end up harming others and ourselves in the process.. Often this obsession ruins our relationships with people who genuinely care for us and damages our confidence and self-esteem beyond the scope of repair.. A man is judged by how he handles both success and failure.. If you fail and find yourself incapable of standing up, dusting yourself and trying again then you're 'a failure'.. If you achieve success and find yourself incapable of keeping your feet firm on the ground then you're 'a failure cum disaster'..

Being competitive is good but having the right kind of 'competitive spirit' is very important.. Our need for victory and glory teamed with vanity is the perfect recipe for disaster.. Hence, the next time you compare yourself with someone else and decide you want to be like them, ensure that your plan doesn't include the 'the perfect recipe for disaster'.. ;))

Happy wishful thinking! :D