'Twas always thus. The only difference is the people who feel that way today versus yesteryear.
Been on both ends of the scale, albeit not international footballer/movie star level, and yet the constants remain…some shake their dust at the good fortune of others, and some shake their head at their own good fortune.
Personally, I chose Uni over signing a pro soccer contract at Leeds Utd. There might have been a few wistful thoughts of what might have been, but the odds are stacked so heavily against you that relying on my brain and hard work seemed like the much better alternative…and that finally worked out.
One of the things I have noticed, and I’m not saying this is the case for you, is that those people who thought it was cool to ditch school, mess around when they were there, or simply couldn’t buckle down, and thus slipped through the cracks of the education system, leaving them without the foundation needed for success. From there, it’s easy to get discouraged, even though it’s not too late to change the trajectory of one’s life. I, myself, am on my third, very different, “career” (football, finance, aviation), but I was always a big believer in “the only difference between me and the person doing whatever I wanted to do was hard work/effort and the education/knowledge needed,” which led to me quitting my finance job (and my wife quitting her job, too!) and going back to Uni.
All that is meant to portray is that even many successful people have been in your shoes, feeling like they couldn’t make ends meet, yet have reset the trajectory of their lives. In your case, perhaps it’s not even the trajectory of your life, as it might be very fulfilling but just not as financially secure as you might like. However, you have the power to make a positive change.
It’s never easy, and one can find myriad reasons why you can’t do it. But, if there’s one way you can, even if (as in my case) it means taking out student loans and investing in yourself and your ability to do the hard work necessary, then it is possible and doable.
There are always going to be extremes, like the multimillionaire uneducated footballer or movie star who make far in excess of what their intellect would command elsewhere, but they’re not only not the norm, but they distort our norms. They are such outliers they can warp reality.
My wife has a saying, which I’m certain is not hers originally, which states, “Do not let comparison rob you of joy” or “Don’t let comparison be the thief of your joy.” In short, there are always going to be those with more, bigger, better, but we can’t have the yardstick of our own joy be the excesses of others.
Lastly, and I’ve said this before, Bono of U2 explained the difference between Ireland and America in one observation.
And Irishman walking past the mansion of the hill shakes his fist and states, “That fucker! He must have screwed everybody to get that mansion!” The American walks past that same mansion and states, “One day, with a little time and lots of hard work, that’ll be me in that mansion!”
We all choose how we view our own lives and the success of others, and if we are going to compare ourselves to everyone we meet. Make a positive choice. Make your life better in some small way, every day.
To each their own, but don’t measure yourself by the outsized success of others, or blame disparity for robbing you of daily joy. Rather, realize who you are, where you are, and actively wonder if tomorrow can be better in some small way.
Peace and be well.
