you can see how much work you have to do, and you can see
that it’s achievable. You don’t have to tell them you’re using
them as your guide, although you can certainly ask their
advice if it would help.
Yo u m i g h t t h i n k t h a t i t c o u l d b e d e p r e s s i n g a l w a y s t o b e c o m-
paring yourself with people who are better than you. But as
my 16-year-old friend wisely points out, one is good and the
other is better. No one is scoring badly here, and anyway you
get extra brownie points for the fact that you’re being honest
with yourself about where there’s room to improve and then
taking positive steps to do it.
Seeing the people around us as teachers is something that
comes naturally when you’re 16. Sadly, we can lose that atti-
tude as we get older. But if we have any sense, we surround
ourselves with good, positive people, so actually it would be
odd if we couldn’t learn from them, wouldn’t it? And it’s our
best chance of beating Rule 2.**
YOU CAN SEE HOW MUCH
WORK YOU HAVE TO DO,
AND YOU CAN SEE THAT
IT’S ACHIEVABLE.
**You mean you haven’t learned them by heart? Rule 2 is “You’ll Get Older but
Not Necessarily Wiser.”