Root for Each Other

Since when did life become all about tearing someone down and telling them they aren’t good enough?

Why is everyone out to get each other, trying to be better than the person next to them?

I get it. I totally believe in the contest paradigm. I understand that we need to try to be better than the person next to us to: get the job, get the better grade, get the promotion, but at what expense? I am not going to try to be better than the person next to me if it means pushing them down on my way up.

Maybe I’m just trying too hard to change the world. Maybe it’s just the fact that I care so much about everyone I come in contact with. Maybe it is just a personality trait.

This increasing need for competition in our simple everyday life has given us a lack of empathy for one another. Some of us live too much in our bubble. We look at the world through our eyes and our eyes only.

One time I had driving explained to me as a team effort. If we all drove as if we were part of a team we wouldn’t have the same issues we have now. People would be more considerate to let others through. We would move out of the way of faster traffic in the fast lane. Working as a team is far more beneficial than working as an individual.

Of course working in a team only works if everyone has a compelling interest to participate. Each and every individual needs to be prepared to participate. Unfortunately, not each and every individual wants to participate, or they don’t know how to. This is when we run into the issue of hindering an individual’s growth.

When someone doesn’t understand something, the worst thing you can do is make them feel bad for it. No one can grow then they’re being put down. Plants thrive with sunlight, water, and nutrients. How is a person expected to thrive without this environment as well? You can’t constantly put down your colleague, classmate, or whomever, and still expect them to grow. That’s like placing a tree in a dark room and expecting it to flourish.

‘Everybody is a genius, but if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will live it’s whole life believing that it is stupid.’

I have always loved this quote. I love it because we all are different. Some of us are better at one thing and worse at another. See I’ve never been good at math. I’ve had teachers and professors make me feel like I wasn’t good enough because I couldn’t grasp a concept.

Here’s the thing, we need to root for each other. We need to encourage the person next to us. Find the joy is seeing another person grow; once you do, rooting for the person next to you will just make sense.