Mind the Gap

If others are faster, does that make you slow?
If others are richer, does that make you poor?
If others are stronger, does that make you weak?

I was reminded of this phrase all of a sudden.
In the middle of a discussion of social mobility and inequality.

Let’s decompose the phrase.

The Gap can of course be absolute or relative.
Is it closing relative to who you were in the past?
Is it closing relative to those you consider your contemporaries?
Is it closing relative to your reality vs your expectations?

Then when you speak about “minding the”.
It’s really about what you care about.
What you want to prioritise.

That’s the part that always gets me.
I want it all.

The thing is that I always want to feel like I’m moving forward.
Like I am progressing.

But progressing towards what?
Working towards what?
I don’t have a clear answer to that.

I’m chasing the high of accomplishment.
Of feeling I matter.

Like these lyrics — “I would always open up the door
Always looking up at higher floors
Want to see it all give me more (Rise, rise up)
I was always up for making changes
Walking down the street meeting strangers
Flipping through my life turning pages (Rise, rise up)”

I think these lyrics really encapsulate the high I’m chasing.
Unsustainable, I know.

So I really need to learn to rise above.
Or as the song says, rise up.