A little story about the year-end bonus...

Thread Content

After working hard for a whole year, Lao Wang received a year-end bonus of around 10,000. Upon inquiring, he found that the other people in the office only got a bonus of 1,000. Unable to contain his joy, Old Wang secretly used his phone to call his wife: Honey, don’t cook dinner tonight. The year-end bonus has been paid out, so let’s go to that Western restaurant you’ve been thinking about all along to celebrate properly! After working hard for a whole year, Lao Wang received a year-end bonus of around 10,000. Upon inquiring, he found that the others in the office also got 10,000 as a year-end bonus, which caused him a sense of disappointment. Near the end of work, Old Wang sent a text message to his wife: Don’t cook tonight; the year-end bonus has been paid out. Let’s go to that Sichuan restaurant near our home for dinner. After working hard for a whole year, Old Wang received a year-end bonus of around 10,000. Upon inquiring, he found that the other people in the office got a year-end bonus of 12,000 each. Old Wang was depressed; he felt as though a heavy stone was pressing on him all day long, leaving him in a gloomy mood. When he got home from work, he saw his wife cooking and started complaining non-stop. It took his wife a long time to persuade him, before Old Wang finally calmed down a bit. Well, it’s better than nothing, I guess. I called my son, who was playing on the computer, over and gave him 100 yuan, saying, \"Go to the Sichuan cuisine restaurant at the entrance and buy two dishes; we’ll have two extra dishes for dinner.\" After working hard for a whole year, Old Wang received a year-end bonus of around 10,000. Upon inquiring, he found that the other people in the office each got a year-end bonus of 50,000. When Old Wang heard this, he was so angry that he almost exploded; he rushed to the manager’s office and argued for a long time, but to no avail. Lao Wang suppressed his anger and stayed in the office all day. When he got home, he sulked in silence; upon seeing his son playing on the computer, he exploded in anger: You good-for-nothing! Exams are coming up soon, and you still don’t hurry to study. If I see you playing on the computer again, I’ll break your ass! The same amount of year-end bonus can evoke completely different feelings in different contexts. Because for many people, happiness often does not lie in how good they are themselves, but in how much better they are than others. Many people suffer, and often it’s not so much that they are unfortunate themselves, but rather that they are more unfortunate than others. Such pointless joy and misfortune not only waste one’s energy and emotions but also make one feel humble and insignificant. As the saying goes, there are no problems in the world; it’s the ordinary people who create them.