EP. 95 – What good is being prime minister of Canada?

[Intro]

Welcome to episode 95 season 03 of the podcast!

Remember we officially have all the transcripts, every day! 

Find the transcripts in our telegram group, they will be added daily over there. The link is in the description, or you can find it in my instagram bio. 

Every day of the week, from Monday to Friday, we will read a part of a book, and from there we'll learn a little bit, and talk about it. On the weekends, that's when I will release the longer interviews - and if they're in English, of course the transcripts will also be available; 

So let's start - and today I'm going to read two small parts from the same book. First: 

"No matter how good you are at something, or how you rank your accomplishments, there is someone out there who makes you look incompetent. [...] Who cares if you're prime minister of Canada when someone else is the president of the United States"
Page 86, 12 rules for Life by Jordan B Peterson. 

But I want to add a little more to this, and at the end of this chapter, it says: 

"Instead of playing the tyrant, therefore, you are paying attention. You are telling the truth, instead of manipulating the world. You are negotiating, instead of playing the martyr or the tyrant. You no longer have to be envious, because you no longer know that someone else truly has it better. You no longer have to be frustrated, because you have learned to aim low, and to be patient. 

You are discovering who you are, and what you want, and what you are willing to do. You are finding that the solutions to your particular problems have to be tailored to you, personally and precisely. You are less concerned with actions of other people, because you have plenty to do yourself. Attend to the day, but aim at the highest good. 

Now, your trajectory is heavenward. That makes you hopeful. Even a man on a sinking ship can be happy when he clambers aboard a lifeboat."
12 Rules for Life, pages 110-111 by Jordan B Peterson; 

And this is one of my favourite chapters of this book - I remember when I read it, it was incredibly important, and it still is today, as I reread it to record this episode today. But what does it all mean? Well, I am not 100% of sure if I know exactly what it means. But I will try to give you my perspective on it. 

In life, we play this game of constantly comparing ourselves to others. This is especially true today in the age of social media. Instagram models - male or female - make you look weak, or make you question your dad bod. Hyper achieving individuals that at age 17 have already made their first million make you look poor. Elon Musk types make you look stupid. Because, well, as the book says it: no matter how good you are at something, there's gonna be someone better.

And is that a good thing? Is that a bad thing? I think it doesn't really matter. It's just a fact. So when we play this game of comparing ourselves to others we are bound to lose. 

So what do we do, then? Well, here's my interpretation of what this chapter of 12 Rules for Life is trying to teach us. Attend to the day. That means focus on what really is within your reach for that day, and for that moment. Maybe you look at your desk, and there's a list of tasks you have been dreading to do - you have been avoiding for the last 3 months. Maybe some bills are there. Stacks of paper that you need to get rid of. Maybe you can do that today, for 5 minutes. And once you do it, you have made some progress. And now you can compare yourself not to who someone else is today, but with who you are, just before you made that small progress. 

And then maybe you can do that for 5 minutes every day. And you can look at yourself, every day, as someone who has improved, just slightly. And you are just slightly better at something that is meaningful to you every damn day. And now, you are a little bit more hopeful, and you already worry less about others. And about their progress. Because you are aiming your attention to yourself and your progress. 

And I believe that when the book says: "Attend to the day, but aim at the highest good", it is probably telling us to look at what can be done today, and aim to do it at the highest level of "good" possible. To put it very precisely into my reality, a very good example can be drawn from the fact we're expecting little baby Ben to come out any second now. 

And there are gonna be days in which maybe all I'm gonna be able to accomplish are his tasks. And my job, my business, the house chores, maybe all of those things are gonna be on hold. And I'm probably going to have two ways to look at it. I can either look at the house, the chores, my business tasks, and think: "Man… you know… Elon Musk has kids. And he is the CEO of Tesla. He is a billionaire, and he handles it all. How can it not handle it? Why is it so difficult?"

Or, I can look at Ben, and think: "Man… you know, I've done a lot for Ben today! He ate his meal happily. He stopped crying. He didn't throw a temper tantrum, and he is incredibly healthy. And I'm so happy that I could be there for him today."

So by doing this, I am attending to the day - to the task at hand - and at the same time, I am aiming at the highest good. I am doing my best, the best thing I could possibly do, while handling the task at hand. And now, I've made progress. I'm better, and I've achieved something, and this gives me hope. And now maybe, after Ben has stopped crying, or after he is fed, and he is sleepy, I can maybe get back to work, and continue improving. A little bit. Every day. 

So in 10, 15, 25 years when I look back, that small progress that has happened every damn day while I was attending to that small baby has now become a man. A man of principle, a man that understands that he can trust parents, and he can count on them. 

Do you see where I am going? Small, achievable things, can become incredible and sustainable success in the long run. In fact, I think it's inevitable. Small progress every day inevitably leads to happiness and success in the long run. And as the book says itself: "to journey happily may well be better than to arrive successfully". 

So, no. You're probably never going to win at the game of comparing yourself to others. There's always going to be someone else. And if your vision is aimed at that, you are bound to feel unhappy. If you become the president of Brazil - you may wish you were the President of the United States. But if you compare yourself to who you were yesterday, you will see life change right before your eyes. Progress. A little. A lot. It's up to you. 

So as the book says: compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not to who someone else is today.

This was today's message. And I hope you really enjoyed it. I know I am absolutely loving to record this season of the podcast, because it forces me to read great books, reread some of them, and share something of value to you guys here. And I really hope this means something to you! So let me know, and again, if you want to read this podcast to understand all the words I've said here, and to help you improve your vocabulary, you can always find it in our telegram group - check the link on the description, or find it in my instagram bio. 

That's it for today. And, as always, thank you so much for listening