Over Christmas lunch I was lucky enough to have a much loved family member share the ‘blacker cat’ philosophy and it has really stuck with me.
Basically… Someone always has something better, something brighter, something which ‘out-trumps’ your “thing” and is unreservedly unapologetic about it. They have a “blacker cat” than you.
The thing I have discovered over the Christmas / New Year break is the amount of people that do this, without realising and without understanding the consequences of their ‘self promotion’.
Whether it be the perfect family/work life balance, the perfect batch/holiday destination to relax and unwind, the perfect day completely disconnect from work, or perfect car trip from their holiday destination with no traffic… some of us look in awe and wonder how the hell did they get that and what or where did I go wrong to get it?
The thing they forget is that at one point in their life, they were exactly in the same position as we are now, that in order to achieve the work/life balance, they needed a village behind them to help achieve it; to achieve the perfect batch/holiday destination they needed a team or a hardworking staff or contractors to bring in the business while you are away; and to achieve the perfect car trip they needed a well organised household ready to go at a moments notice to avoid the rush (and with my 2 kids that’s highly unlikely!).
What they also didn’t share is the historical struggle to make it happen, the “behind the scenes” which makes sure it all goes to plan… The hard work it took to get there and also the mistakes and/or ‘practice attempts’ to get things right.
My point is this; you will always come across people who have the “blacker cat”; you can take it two ways… they are highly competitive, always are striving to be the best (and invite you to join in or share the journey) or people that they need to stand up, stand tall and wish be acknowledged for what they have done and just want you to look in awe.
Can you spot them? Who do you know has the ‘blacker cat”? Do you let this affect your way of thinking?
