Used to be that the only Jones you needed to worry about was the one who lived next door.

Now, if you choose, it’s easy to find someone taller, richer, more successful, better liked, with more followers, online friends, connections and endorsements. And certainly it will be someone less deserving than you.

George Carlin liked to talk about the person (there’s always someone) who is worse off than you. The web allows you, with not much effort, to find the person who is better off.

Like many authors, I was briefly addicted to the Amazon bestseller list. Every hour, you can check how you’re doing. The problem (other than the insane non-productiveness of it) is how tricky “you” and “doing” are in that sentence. A number isn’t who you are, and your status compared to other people isn’t how you’re doing.

geralt / Pixabay

I’m not sure the goal needs to be to have more turtles under you than anyone else has. Some things are better left unsearched.

*** my own addition-

Sometime you need to focus on your own business.

We look at others and are not looking at what we can do.