Vintage

I was at the gym the other day, and there was a guy there who’d taken his shirt off, and was flexing in the mirror in the weights area. Now, he was extremely well built – clearly preparing for a body-building competition – but his little ‘performance’ was causing quite a stir amongst the other members around. It was obviously what he was going for (we all know the type who goes to gym just for the sake of showing off), but the general reaction from others was quite interesting…

Most of the comments I overheard were along the lines of “Jeez, what an arrogant prick!” and “Why doesn’t that idiot put his shirt back on?”  This got me thinking.  While my first thought was that it’s a family gym, and the rules state that you have to keep your clothes on, my second thought was “Wow, that guy has obviously worked seriously hard for that definition. Good for him.”  and then I went back to my workout. I feel it sparks the debate, though, of whether we should be jealous of those who have more, or are better at something, than us?

Using the gym as an example of the wider world, most people resort to jealousy, bitterness, and envy as their immediate reaction when they see someone who’s clearly successful.  Look at what they think of guys who drive sports cars:  “Ah, he just got lucky”; “He was born into money”; “Jerk”; “Probably screwed others out of every cent he made”.  It seems to me that people use it as a form of defence, maybe to rationalize to themselves why they haven’t been that successful. Myself, if I see a guy driving a sports car, I think of what he must have done to achieve that, how much work he must have put in to afford it, and I’m inspired by it.  (Every now and again I can’t help but think if the vehicle is paid for by a huge loan, but that’s a story for another post.) A book I read a while back talks about how you should “bless” others when you see their success. While I’m not going to go around anointing people on the head, I can see where the author is coming from. Look at successful people as an inspiration. Study them, and find out how you can replicate their mannerisms and characteristics. Use what you learn to make yourself as successful as possible.

And if you succeed, and one day find yourself driving a sports car (or whatever other ‘sign’ of success it may be), think back on all those people who’ve inspired you along the way, and be thankful for them. Just be prepared for the odd cry of “Jerk!” to follow you around every now and again… :)