Only time is truly fair.

 　　I met up with some friends over the weekend, and the conversation drifted to work. Xiaoli mentioned that her colleague had jumped ship to a company she'd always wanted to work for, making her "envious and resentful." Hearing her describe the company's generous benefits, we were also filled with the same feeling of envy and resentment.

　　Xiaoli couldn't help but laugh, then paused and continued, "When I say 'resentful,' I actually hate myself." We were intrigued.

　　"My colleague and I joined the company at the same time," Xiaoli said. When they first joined, their skill levels were similar, but last month, when the company was laying off staff, she was on the shortlist. She was incredibly anxious; losing her job in her thirties is terrifying. So, after much effort and using connections, she barely managed to stay. Later, she learned that her colleague had already declined the manager's offer to stay and moved to a better company. This news shocked Xiaoli greatly. Her colleague's starting point was actually lower than hers, yet the outcome was completely different.

　　After a heart-to-heart talk with her supervisor and reflecting on her colleague's daily routine, Xiaoli finally understood the difference between herself and her colleague: her colleague used her time to improve herself internally, while she spent it improving herself externally. This difference in initial choices led to their different fates.

　　Xiaoli had a good relationship with her colleague and knew her well. During her lunch break, her colleague was engrossed in studying professional knowledge; she would eagerly anticipate the end of the workday in the afternoon, while her colleague was always the last to go home; she would binge-watch TV series on weekends, while her colleague practiced foreign languages ​​intensively; when faced with overtime, she would always find excuses to avoid it, while her colleague would silently take on all the work… Xiaoli always laughed at her colleague for being so foolish, such a "workhorse" in the workplace, but she never imagined that, unknowingly, the gap between her and her colleague would widen, and the results would be drastically different.

　　Hearing this, I suddenly remembered a saying: only time is truly fair.

　　We all have moments when we envy the success of others, but forget that the prerequisite for success is effort. We don't know how much time and energy others have invested, but we should know how much time we have wasted. Instead of envying others, use that time to improve yourself. Even reading just one page of a book will eventually bring rewards.

　　How you treat time is how time will treat you; you reap what you sow. In the face of substantial gains, only time is truly fair.