One-upping the one-uppers

June 16, 2014 .......... Day 47/365

Okay, it's life lesson time again, so listen up! 
(***And as with all times I "preach", know I'm right here listening carefully along with the choir too!)

If someone posts something on Facebook or elsewhere on social media, please don't one-up them.  I see this way too often, and it's happened to me too, but it shouldn't.  Let the person have their moment!  The rule doesn't apply 100% of the time, and you can do it in a fun way, but you gotta be very, very careful with it.

If I post that I lost 20 pounds, that is just not your opportunity to tell all my friends and family that you lost 30.  It just isn't.  If I post that I love the new t-shirt I just bought, it isn't an invitation for you to tell me, along with everyone I know, that you just went on an all-day shopping spree and have an entirely new wardrobe now.  And if I post that I'm going to Atlantic City for vacation, feel free to tell me you're going to Maine, but if you respond that you're off to Rome, you're just being a jerk. 

We're all entitled to our celebrations and our miseries, but one-upping other people on a social media posting is just unkind, no matter how you slice it.  If you're very close with the person, by all means have fun with him or her in the comment section, but be very careful about competing with them.  Allow them their moment in the sun if they want to tell you how wonderful their vacation in Hoboken was.  Support their 3-ounce weight loss with a "like" if they are truly celebrating it.  And throw a big ol' smiley face of joy in the comments section if they just came back from their fourteenth straight night of reading War & Peace in the bathroom of their local White Castle.  Or...just ignore them.  But don't, don't, don't compete with them.

There are going to be all kinds of things we're going to enjoy posting about on social media to make ourselves feel better.  If we're stuck at the airport on a cold winter's night because our flight was canceled, we may want to post about it to feel just a tiny bit better.  The comments we get will make us feel a little less alone, a little less bored, and a little less uncomfortable.  We as the friends of these people need to be mindful of that person's headspace and euphoria.  We need to respect their three feet of emotional space.  We need to let them be.

So don't be that guy or that girl who one-ups all the time.  It's not needed.  Your inspiration and support are great, but if you're telling someone something just to outdo them, you're no longer being a friend.  You're just that person we know who's showing off with a better story. 

BUT...if you do end up being the "victim" of a drive-by one-upper on one of these occasions, celebrate the success of the person who commented!  If they need attention so badly as to invade your posting, and turn the conversation to themselves, be the better person and let them.  Love them.  Celebrate their success.  One-up the one-uppers by turning the other cheek, and showing anyone watching that you've done so.  Your smart friends will see what this person did by interjecting themselves, and they'll likewise see how well you handled it!  It may not "serve them right", but it'll always be "the right way to serve".

Have a friend or family member who could use a reminder like this one?  Share this entry on your Facebook wall or Twitter feed today.  Although be forewarned: they may have a better story they can share in response!