A zero sum game is a game in which when one person gains, you lose, and when another person loses, you gain. And, oddly enough, sometimes I have to remind myself that most of life is not a zero sum game.
Its hard because we compare our situations with the situations of others, and in some weird way we tend to think that because something good happened to someone else that it will be delayed in happening to us. Of course, it only takes a moment of reflection to realize that this type of thinking it totally bogus, and that is my point. Its good to remind ourselves from time to time that most of life is not a zero sum game, that good things can happen to others and to us as well, and that we should celebrate victories with our friends and colleges when they do well.
I think that we tend to think of life as a zero sum game because in seeing someone else succeed and move forward, it punctuates the fact that we have not yet succeeded and moved forward ourselves. But, we have to remember that this is ok, we won’t all walk the same path and in the end its a good thing that we don’t try.
Comparing the “success” of another person to our own is a hopeless and defeating practice, there is no good in it. Celebrating with friends and family, hoping for the best for them, encouraging them to take the next step toward their own dreams, that is where we will all find the encouragement me need to face today.