Cheerleading

“Such behavior! People don’t want to praise their contemporaries whose lives they actually share, but hold great expectations for the praise of future generations—people they haven’t met or ever will! This is akin to being upset that past generations didn’t praise you.”
—MARCUS AURELIUS

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I’ve been there. Looking at your people win and feeling so jealous and resentful that you wonder who this person is. Because you never thought you’d be rolling your eyes at seeing others win. Especially when you’re both doing the same thing and you don’t know why they get all the acclaim when their work isn’t all that much different from yours.

Well, the news is all these parts of you are what makes you human. Cheerleading isn’t fun when you’re not winning yourself.

One stoic principle in a nutshell, is to cheer your contemporaries. Just because you know them. This doesn’t help with the resentment because comparison shows up and leaves you feeling all inadequate and less than you would have felt.

Well, the solution is to put away those feelings and louden your cheers so they are snuffed out or becomes less important.

May peace be with you. May your stoic journey be effective and satisfying.

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