"Comparison"

Hello.
Aoyagi here.

This week's theme is "comparison."

It's a theme that connects to what I wrote about "standards" before, here.


Humans are surprisingly swayed by comparison, I think.

Adler, my favorite psychologist, also spoke about comparison, and his words were actually what changed my perspective on "comparison."


Comparisons you shouldn't worry about, and comparisons that you should actually be passionate about.


I feel like I've become more aware of that difference.


Well, I've covered most of the outline in the introduction, so please bear with me a little longer as I illustrate with some examples.





For example, there's an interesting story about salary, which most people in the world probably care about.


Person A has a monthly salary of 300,000 yen.
Person B has a monthly salary of 400,000 yen.


Normally, you'd think Person B would be more at ease.

But what if...


The average salary in Person A's community is 200,000 yen.
The average salary in Person B's community is 500,000 yen.


Then what?

Even though Person B's salary is actually higher, I feel that quite a few people would still feel troubled or negative.

What I want to convey is that people's feelings can change not because of the amount itself, but because of "who they compare themselves to."


What about another example, like height?

The average height of Japanese men is said to be about 172cm.

People around 160cm might sometimes wish they were a bit taller.

But what if the average height of Japanese men was 150cm?


"I'm 10cm taller than average."


I'm sure more people would think that.

In the end, their height hasn't changed by even a centimeter, but their feelings change just because the person they're comparing themselves to has changed.





I believe what's truly important is not...

"What is the average?"
"Am I above or below average compared to others?"

but rather discerning the standards that you truly value yourself.





However, on the other hand, I don't think comparison itself is bad.

In fact, I believe there are situations where comparing is a good thing.


That would be for something you genuinely want to tackle and where you feel, "I don't want to lose to anyone here."

In such cases, I think it's better to compare yourself to the top-tier people without hesitation.

By knowing the highest level, you can see what you are currently lacking.


So, comparison itself isn't the problem, but rather the purpose of comparison.

It's not about what the general standard is, but about discerning what standards you truly value yourself.

I think that's what's important.

By the way, I'm 163cm tall.

I don't think I'm short, nor do I wish I were taller. (lol)

In fact, I'm satisfied that it's the best height, a perfectly convenient size that allows for quick movements. (lol)