“Comparison is the thief of joy”
This quotation (from Theodore Roosevelt) argues that comparing your work, your life, or whatever else will only serve to make you unhappy.
I cannot tell you how much I love this quote.
Every time I find myself daydreaming about something I want, something I think I need, something I have seen someone else has got, I stop myself and think of Teddy’s wise words.
You see my life is good and I know that I have in my life all the things that really matter to me.
I spend my life working with clients on their financial life planning.
Making sure they are focused on the things that matter most to them.
So, it would be a bit daft if I didn’t pay attention to my own life planning. And I do…
Wanting a bigger house, car or the next shiny thing is a massive distraction.
I love driving past the Trafford Centre and seeing it is busy because it means the hills are quiet for me to enjoy!
Walking and spending time with my family are much more important to me than the latest thing.
So, every other Friday that’s what I do with my wife Gill and my Jack Russell dog, Toby.
It seems to me that the media fuel a lot of this NOW culture and I see it a lot with my 17-year old son Lewis, who is 17.
He loves a pair of trainers (he has 25 of them!).
He gets it from his mother and I constantly wind him up saying that he can only wear one pair at a time even though he has seen another pair he wants – don’t worry he earns the money to pay for them!
We live in a time of comparative luxury given the hardships that previous generations have endured.
Now that is a comparison to really think about!
Phil
P.S. there is an upside to having a trainer loving son – he has the same size feet as me!
