Newspapers love selling stories about extravagant salaries and lives of sport stars, celebrities, and entrepreneurs who’ve made a ton of money. Many of these stories are designed to have us look at their lives, sigh, and ask “Where is the justice in this world? It just isn’t fair.”
And if you’ve found yourself doing that, I thought I’d provide the counter point.
The next time you see a story about a successful superstar that makes you wonder about the fairness in the world, remind yourself that there are 3 questions you can ask yourself –
1. How lucky must he be to land all that success and fame? If that’s the question you want to ask, good luck.
2. Is it possible that she has her fair share of troubles? If you looked at the sort of problems some of your idols had to deal with, you’d probably be glad you are living your own life.
3. What rare and valuable skills does he have? The next time you see people complaining about the exorbitant salaries footballers or corporate CEO’s earn, it’s worth reminding yourself that while those complaining were hanging out in the mall, these guys were working hard to possess those rare and valuable skills. If you want what they have, go develop those rare and valuable skills.
These questions work equally well if you have difficulties coming to terms with a peer’s success.
In the long run, luck evens itself out. The world is very fair. Just because you don’t have the necessary or insight doesn’t make it any less so. And if you are feeling a sense of unfairness, remember to ask yourself what you can do differently.
Can’t change the workings of lady luck or the world at this instant. Can change yourself.
A Learning a Day 