Without looking at others

The only way to grow is to surpass myself.... It usually happens that people measure themselves in comparison to others, either in relation to their effort, what they receive, what they expect and even what they need; when I live a scene in which someone complains about what others do, it reminds me of a scene from my childhood, which is engraved in my mind:

We were all at the table at lunchtime, my mom would first serve the plates with the food and then go on to pour the juice into our glasses (now I suppose she always tried to do it in the same proportion). On one occasion, my sister tells my mom to serve her more juice, because she had less than my brother, to which my mom replies, that that is not a valid reason to serve her more and told us all, that we should not be aware of what others have, only what is ours; she also added: "wanting something just because someone else has it, means that you have no real reason to want it", a principle that she reinforced throughout our childhood and that like each of her teachings, is a true treasure.

If our discomfort or our need is based on the other, it has no validity. A very common case is when a worker complains because he works more than the others, however, when you analyze the claim, it turns out that he does not work overtime, he does not even complete the hours of his working day. On the other hand, when you review his tasks, they are part of his duties and he does not have any activity that is outside of them, so his claim is based exclusively on the fact that he observes that he works more than the rest (and also has enough time to notice it).

And of course it could be the case that a review of a worker's workload is necessary, but I think that the expedient would be to talk to the supervisor and under an approach such as: Project X, has the following activities, which require Y man hours to complete it on time, for which then I should work Z hours a week, which exceeds my working hours, so I am obliged to request, respectfully, to redistribute this assignment, to be able to finish it within the established schedule. But, as I said before, when we do not have a valid argument, we resort to the ill-advised action of going outside ourselves and comparing ourselves with others, which only leaves us in a bad position.

Talking about this topic made me remember the time before I moved out of town, I worked without a break from 7 A.M. to 5 P.M., more than my working hours, even most of the time I had lunch in front of my PC and sometimes I had to go to the office on weekends..... I really had a lot of work, I handled several projects simultaneously; however, I remember that it never crossed my mind that it was something unfair, that I worked more than my colleagues, far from it; I was so busy in my duties, that I had no time to observe the others, nor to question what they did or did not do, which after all is the supervisor's job and yes, I definitely could have done it and with very solid arguments, but when I accepted a project, I assumed it with responsibility and do not believe that I was paid more for that, my salary was the same, no matter how much I worked.

Silently, without having to make an effort to show what I was doing and without it being my intention, in the end I got recognition, each of my bosses, always, in one way or another, let me know that they were very satisfied with my work and that was comforting for me as a professional and, if they did not, just knowing that I had given the best of me, it was enough. The only way to grow, is to better myself and in that case, it matters little what others do or say, that would only detract from my energy and time. I think we should focus on moving towards our goals in the best way possible, without getting caught up in things that do not depend on us.

We must also keep in mind that inner growth and maturity go hand in hand and we don't all do it at the same time, so we must be understanding, even with ourselves.

I ask God that my life is always focused on what is really important and that He gives me the light to know it, and that my time on this planet does not fade away in the ephemeral of everyday life. I thank Him for every opportunity to breathe and feel alive.