You have probably seen some of your friends complain about something trivial via social media, and they might include the hashtag ‘first world problem’. It is a way of sharing a frustration but also acknowledging that it is only something that a privileged few in the world could actually complain about.
The very fact that you are reading this article means that you have an advantage over the 1 billion people around the world who can’t read. If you’re reading it with a cup of coffee in hand, made with clean drinking water, you are more fortunate than the nearly 1 billion people who have no access to clean water or flushable toilets.
Although you may have some health issues, you have access to health care – again, nearly 1 billion people have no access to health care of any description. If you are earning over $50,000 a year, you are in the top 1% of earners worldwide (2.2 billion people live on less than $2 per day).
Why all these statistics? Sometimes it is important to get some perspective. The fact that you have had access to an education and the opportunity to create a business, means that you are vastly wealthier compared to the majority of people in the world. Sometimes in the day to day of running a business, we can get jaded and negative about all the ‘woes’ that we have. But I think it is useful to remember that on your ‘worst’ day, the majority of people around the globe would trade places with you in a heartbeat.
None of this is intended to make you feel guilty about what you do have! But it is intended to help you ponder the abundance of resources and opportunity that are at your fingertips, and to encourage you not to waste your days bemoaning your difficult circumstances. Yes there will be times when life is hard, even though we live in wealthy circumstances by global comparisons. But perspective has a way of shifting our focus from a negative to a positive outlook and allowing us to make each moment and day count.
Michelle Grice writes a weekly column for business women in The Western Weekender