Page 33 - Mousy Mouse Has a Bad Day

The effective coping style, “Tell ourselves that they are fortunate to have what they have and I am no less a person because of what they have,” is the skill taught in this story. In our adult society, a lot of money is spent to get us to not use this coping style. Marketing is designed to encourage this naturally occurring irrationality of comparing ourselves to others and using possessions as the score card of who is “best.”
Consumer magazines may have an automotive comparison article, showing that a Toyota Camry is almost as good as a Lexus for half the money. But many of us will buy the Lexus and scrape by to make the monthly payments rather than buy the Camry and have money left over each month. Why? Because the thinking habit of “comparing” causes us anxiety and we then do something to make ourselves feel better, even if it is against our better judgment.
We see this “comparison thinking” in children and in many adults. Our children may be demanding or whine for the latest toy, shoe, video game or for less homework.
As adults and teachers, you may find this behavior annoying but you may “give in.” This is easier than addressing the fact that there will be no great catastrophe if they don’t have the thing they are just “dying to have” or if they will have to miss their favorite TV show to do the homework.
Unfortunately, for many of us who are not able to control this type of thinking, the anxiety and shame this thinking may cause, pushes some adolescents and adults into mood altering drug (alcohol) use.
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