Seth Godin wrote a piece last month entitled The internet as envy amplifier. While I can see where he’s coming from, I follow a different approach.
I see the internet as an ambition amplifier. Of course there’s always someone better out there, and of course it’s easy to envy that person’s success. But isn’t it way better to spend that energy motivating yourself to improve?
Do the searches. Find out who’s better than you. These people are your new role models, and their numbers are your new goals.
3 replies on “The Internet as Ambition Amplifier”
I agree with both of you. I find Facebook and its huge number of “friends” can skew your views when it comes to the successes of your peers; specifically milestones. How often do you hear “EVERYONE I know is getting married”, “EVERYONE I know is getting pregnant, “…has their mastersâ€, “…bought a houseâ€, “…is travelling the world†ad infinitum? It’s easy to make generalizations when you’re bombarded with status updates.
That’s a stellar point, I hadn’t considered Facebook at all. You’re spot-on that it’s easy to conflate “many people travelling the world” with “everyone except me travelling the world”.
I think that angle would have made a better post :)
Spot on! – well said.