Who’s Keeping The Score?

There are people who are constantly working so hard to score brownie points, that they lose their bearings. I often want to ask them: Who’s keeping the score?

Who’s Keeping The Score?

I  would love to hear how you feel about this situation:

Ms White, who is single lives with her aging mother. She works hard at her job,  takes excellent care of her mother and anticipates her needs. She takes her mother for regular check ups to the doctors, buys her medicines and does everything to make her comfortable. However, when her mother falls quite ill, Ms White’s brother, Dr Brown, who lives in another city, flies down to see his mother who has been hospitalized. He hardly visits her otherwise, being busy with his work, family and other commitments. On this visit he spends a brief time with his mother but is actively involved in talking with doctors and consultants to ensure his mother gets good medical treatment. The mother recovers and is ever grateful to her son. She goes around telling people how much her did for her treatment, etc. Poor Ms White, the regular care-giver is quite forgotten.

Ms White is hurt mostly because this is not the only time this happens. Her brother specializes in being a ‘finisher.’ He invests little on a regular basis, but makes the right moves at the right time to ensure that he scores brownie points. He doesn’t  remember his mothers birthday, but when Ms White reminds him, he sends her a large bouquet of flowers. It is a day late, but his mother makes sure everyone sees what a loving son she has. She takes for granted the lovely cake that Ms White baked her on her birthday and the new clothes and shoes she bought for her. Another brownie point scored by Mr Brown.

Ms White doesn’t say much, for fear she’ll upset her mother, but she does wonder, how her mother can’t see through Mr Brown’s behavior.

Mr Brown, I’m certain, is not even conscious of what he is doing.

Do you know someone like this in your life too who consciously or unconsciously does things to get noticed and get praise from others? What do you think Ms White should do about the situation?

Do you know who’s keeping the score?

Image of chocolate brownies via Shutterstock