#scorekeepers

New Post has been published on https://www.crownofcompassion.org/2018/07/15/scorekeepers-a-powerful-influence/

Scorekeepers - a powerful influence

“We are, by nature, scorekeepers. . . . Our sense of score exerts a powerful influence over our lives.  Our behavior is inevitably aimed at achieving a higher point total.”- John Ortberg

“Some wonderful, dazzling success are going to happen for some of the most awful, angry, undeserving people you know — people who are, in other words, not you.”- Anne Lamott

In Chapter 3 (“Three Ways to Keep Score”) of When the Game is Over, John Ortberg observes we use our nature as scorekeepers to define success.  Thus, whatever scoring system we hook up to emotionally dictates our behavior.  And, most commonly, we tend to keep score with the three Cs – comparing, competing, and climbing.  Today, Pastor Ortberg discusses comparing.

1.  Comparing To.  Psychologists, John notes, state that people engage in three types of comparing:

upward comparison– comparing your situation to those better off than you; danger -incites envy

lateral comparison– assessing yourself relative to those at your same lever; danger – incites competition

downward comparison– comparing yourself to those worse off than you; danger- incites arrogance

Furthermore, Pastor Ortberg states, we tend to keep score in the most self-serving ways.  For example, when it comes to affluence, we tend to compare ourselves with those just slightly better off. Thus, that gives us hope of attaining their level of success.  As a result, we fail to express gratitude.  Nor do we focus on our need to share with those worse off.

However, when it comes to ethical behavior, we tend to compare ourselves to people we perceive as less moral than ourselves.  Consequently, this ethical benchmark gives us a higher integrity score.

Finally, the author asserts, one main reason we feel tempted to get more invested in work than relationships centers on the fact that it’s easier to keep score in our vocations.

Today’s question: “How does a scorekeepers approach play itself out in your life?  Please share.

omigosh I should totally make a wiki page for them XD

Nah they don’t have canon names and we don’t know anything about them at all really! All we have are those few lines and that beautiful moment of eye contact from episode one... They don’t even appear in any other episodes as far as I know (though I’m holding out for the final one maybe? That would just be too cool)

Not only are they the OTP they are the OOTP (original one true pairing)

▼ - childhood headcanon 

Okay so Yoshida Maikeru was one of those kids with a big heart and always willing to help out but is just so damn boisterous all the time everyone thinks they’re a troublemaker but his friends thought he was awesome. 

Akiyama Katsu read a lot and could be a little bit of a jerk to those he didn’t like if they didn’t know something but I think once he realised that was unkind he began to help out everyone with homework and stuff like that because really he’s too pure to see someone struggling when he knew he could help.

I point you towards this incredibly helpful meme I made a billion years ago 

I think they’d both help each other out but Yoshida strikes me more of the type to forget his jacket when it’s cold and then complain forever about it until finally Akiyama just shrugs his off and hands it to him and Yoshida makes a few half hearted protests because it’s not really that cold and I’m a man I can take it but really they’re not very effective because he’s shivering and everything so he gives in and puts it on and probably takes a deep breath of Akiyama’s smell as he does.