Life treats you equitably, not equally

Photo by Bharathi Kannan on Unsplash

If you have ever felt that this world treats unequally by favoring others while disfavoring you for some reason, it is the time to give it an honest rethought. Life has blessed you with equal resources (knowledge, talent, money, health, contacts, time, information, etc.) as anybody else, but your resources could be different, because you are unique and special. It only requires you to explore yourself to identify what life has bestowed on you uniquely.

Some person is gifted with a sweet voice and flair for music, some person is gifted with scientific acumen and logical thinking, someone is bestowed with the ability to work with numbers, someone is blessed with the best communication ability, and so on and so forth. Ultimately everyone is equally blessed with resources (in one or the other form) to flourish and prosper in life.

But then the question arises: why do we find so much of disparity among people around us? The differences lie in the way different people put their resources to use, and how differently life rewards them according to their efforts.

For example, we know many people who have the same talent in the field of computer programming. Even then, they would flourish differently in their field because there is a difference in how each one puts his/her talent to use and work hard. The one who works up to the expectations of the employer with the help of the programming talent definitely outperforms many others. Further, if any one among them is capable of independently managing a project and the associated teams at a leadership position, he/she would prosper even better.

Going a bit forward, suppose a person can create value to the society at large by solving some significant problems using the knowledge of computer science, and then even more will be the chances of the person outshining majority others in the profession. Hence, the more you give to the profession or the community, the more you can expect from life, and vice versa. Life does not treat all equally. It treats everyone equitably.

The words equality and equity are different though related. Equality means Life has gifted each individual on this earth with equal resources, but life treats you further equitably according to what value you give back to the humankind using your resources.

It is as simple as the following example.

The owner of a land divides it among three individuals equally. Each of the three is provided with equal access to water, seeds, manure, and utensils. The first one works with dedication for long hours to harvests 10 bags of wheat in his share of land, the second one is a mediocre who harvests 6 bags, while the third one is an easy-taking guy who harvests 3 bags of wheat. Life has treated them equally in the first place by giving them equal resources, but now life treats them equitably by rewarding them purely according to their work. If a bag of wheat sells for $25, the three guys are rewarded $250, $150, and $75 respectively; simple arithmetic isn't it? This is called equitable treatment.

Is there a point in the mediocre grumbling against the difference in the reward that he gets as compared to the best performer? If you want the life to treat you just as the best performer is treated, then, remember, your efforts should match that of the best performer.