Put things into context.
When your life ‘sucks’ it’s likely that your mind has put things out of context. You’ve blown up your problems, and minimized the things you can be grateful for.
In psychology this is called the contrast principle.
The contrast principle affects the way we judge or evaluate things when they are compared with another. If we compare a beach ball and a tennis ball, we will perceive the beach ball to be big and the tennis ball small. But when we compare the beach ball with Saturn, we think of the beach ball as small.
In other words, our judgement and perception is relative.
Nothing displays this principle in a more accurate and fun way than the memes “third world success” and “first world problems.”
Check them out below. Click to enlarge. And enjoy seeing things in a different context.
Here’s what everybody ought to know…
No matter how hard you think you have it, someone else has it worse.
You must gain perspective for your life. Don’t be a first world problem douche bag brat.
This doesn’t mean you should just accept anything and everything in your reality and quit looking to improve yourself, your community, your country, and your world. It simply means you squash your sense of entitlement and expand your reality.
Well spoken! Love this. Been thinking about this a lot too. kid in class yesterday goes, “I have 1,000 dollars worth of jeans but i really think i need more…” -_-
HAHAHAHAHA damn that made me laugh in stiches! I also saw antoher great on with the little kid it read “Everyday I’m Shuff fa faling”
This is great advice Sam! No matter how down you may be, somewhere someone has it worse. Unfortunately it’s not always that easy to bounce back and be able to see the bigger picture. Perspective is something achieved over time and through experience. Individuals often become so absorbed in their own worlds that they don’t see the trials and tribulations of others, to be able to walk in their shoes. I remember a scene from the movie “Hotel Rwanda” when a Rwandan was happy that the news crews were filming the carnage. Joaquin Phoenix, who played a cameraman, was not as optimistic. He said people back in the U.S. would take note of the news story, say “that’s too bad,” and go back to their dinners. As an archaeologist I see something similar all the time. As professionals, as foreigners, we moan over the destruction of cultural heritage and looting of sites and wonder how people can destroy their past (). We often forget that they too are looking for a better life, a higher standard of living that you and I may already enjoy thus allowing us to engage in professions of luxury. Positive thinking and keeping things relative are great, but not always easily achieved.