BACKlikeWEneverLEFT

Hey good people, we haven’t forgotten about you guys.  We have just been keeping our conversations amongst ourselves, constantly challenging people in the more literal sense.  My co-blogger and I have engaged in some very interesting arguments and debates with ourselves and friends.  So much so that haven’t been able to post all this good stuff.  Recently we were having a conversation that really got my gears grinding.  Then earlier today another close friend and I had a very similar conversation.  So I took that as my key to hit the labs and get back to writing.   Both conversations we very interesting and definitely thought-provoking.  Essentially we discussed the concept of keeping up with others, how friends keep up with friends.  This is a notion that has been around for decades, most normally coined as “KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES”.

My grandmother has said this phrase since I was younger, about somebody “trying to keep up with the joneses” and aiming to be like somebody else.  As i think back on it grandma always made reference to it in a negative light.  The recent conversations I have had, touch directly on that; how negative this thought process can be.  This phrase represents how materialistic we as a society can be. The real phrase means ‘Strive to match one’s neighbors in spending and social standing.’  My friends and I were  looking in the thought of how people tend to do things for that “ONE UP” aspect.  If this person has 2012 Benz, you go out and get 2013 BMW to compete.  Forget the fact that you can’t afford it, or that you may be able to but WON’T be able to afford anything else in life.  ‘I got my high dollar car though, everything else will be OK.’  This couple got married, WE need to get married. This is the motto we as people tend to live by, we measure our successes based off others’.

Don’t get me wrong, I think having people around you, who are doing good is a great thing.  This should serve as motivation, not as envy.  People who you value in life, should motivate you to do the same not give the thought that you have to do it just to keep up.  Learn to live with in the means and time of your life.  For instance, you know somebody who just bought a house; this should act as a motivational tool.  The thought shouldn’t be to go buy a house if you’re NOT READY, the thought should be what do you need to do get to that point.  Often times we overlook what went into the ‘joneses’ getting to that level.  There is a hidden process that occurred for things to turn out the way they have.  It is unfair to yourself to compare your successes to another, everybody’s struggle is different.  Yes this can motivate you though, find out how to improve and overcome.  Get things that you want because YOU want them, not because somebody else has them.  My dreams and goals are not the same as my cowriter’s; our life courses may be similar but far from the same.  Due to knowing this, we use this as motivation for each other.  We want each other to be good in our own individual nature, not how we compare to each other.

Unfortunately many people view life the opposite way, and will continue to do so; however this continue to add unnecessary stress to one’s life. Attempting to KEEP UP WITH THE JONESES, has been a phrase heard for several decades now, and I am not trying to get rid of it. What I would like is for people to keep up; but with a more positive reason.  If somebody motivates you to strive for more, do so because you want more for yourself  not just to prove yourself.  But hey if it wasn’t for the ‘JONESES’; we may not have started this site.  Continue to motivate us!!