Why do we want to be like others or want others to be more like us?

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Everybody loves good things and everybody loves praises. As human beings, we try to run away from things to could make us popular for wrong reason. Hardly will you see a sane man in his right sense hoping to be popular for armed robbery.

Praise, fame and reward are things man set his eyes on and hope to achieve. It is also true that not everybody can be a hero or even near a heroic status. Despite this fact, humans still wish to be known for something good or bravery.

We love to emulate good things most times. This explains why a young boy would be proud to wear C.Ronaldo's jersey or Messi's jersey ahead of jersey with his own name.

Ask kids, who would you love to be like in the future, and you will hear answers like Ronaldo, Messi, Obama, Kanye West. Hardly will you find any kid bold and proud enough to say 'myself'! Perhaps we asked the wrong question by askng 'who' instead of what.

But our lives are programmed in that way from childhood. Parents often use others as examples and implore their children to behave in similar manner or emulate the behaviour of person 'A' because to them, it is virtuous.

It is also common to use ourselves as models for others. A conscious being is aware of the fact that others are watching and act in a way that he feels is good and would be worthy of emulation by others. This is why people set standards, live by them and hope to pass such to others.

It is even more frustrating when people form rigid beliefs about your parent and expect you to act in the same way. They are less concerned about your own standards or your views about life and how it should be lived. They clearly forgot that the standards they are referencing were created, nurtured and lived by your parent.

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You can only be worthy of emulation if you create something unique too that must not necessarily be different from your parent's own but must not be identical.

I still don't know why we work so hard or strive to be like someone else when we clearly know that no matter how equal we look, we cannot fit into their shoes. This reminds me of 2Baba (2Face) song - Free where he cautioned people not walk in his shoes because it will not size them.

If you wish to be like someone, then you need to understand that Rome was not built in a day. The success you see and wished for is a 'big storm that is quiet'. The person must have gone through so many things that he would wish even his enemy wont experience. Hoping to be like the person or step into his shoes is to carry a bigger burden in addition to your own big burden.

Instead of trying to be like others, why not be yourself? The best you can be as a living being is to be yourself. You need to understand that you are unique and no other person on planet is like you. You have no photocopy. You are simply the original of yourself.

Don't also expect anybody to be like you. Doing that would mean you are stopping them from discovering their potentials. In fact, the other person you wished could emulate you might have something greater within than you do. He/she might be the 'miracle' the human race is waiting to see, experience and embrace.

Live your life, be yourself and be unique. You are the original of yourself!.

Thanks for your time. I am @smyle the philosopher