Favouritism. The word is present in almost every stage and every area of our life. Be it schoo/college, profession, or even our home. The bane of favouritism ensures that hard work does not get its due credit. People often brush it off saying it’s just human nature. That we naturally click with some people more than others. But if you’ve ever been on the losing side of favoritism, you know that it is just an excuse. It doesn’t just sting, it messes with your head. It makes you wonder, am I not good enough? Arguably, one’s first big tryst with favouritism comes during school life. There are always those ‘blue-eyed boys’ and ‘golden girls’ whom the teacher favours for the reason of his/her liking. The kids who work hard just get ignored. At first, it feels unfair. But then, something worse happens.

 

You start getting used to it. You start believing that no matter how much you try, you’ll never be ‘good enough’. Albert Einstein had said, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” That’s what favoritism does. It makes kids believe they are not good enough. That their efforts do not count. That no matter how hard they try, someone else will take the job/credit/award. And it’s not just about grades. It’s about opportunities, leadership roles, competitions and more. This favouritism doesn’t stop in the classroom. It follows you in your profession life.

 

One may be the most sincere and hardworking person in the office, but if one is not part of inner circle, one’s invisible. Warren Buffett had said, “Opportunities come infrequently. When it rains gold, put out the bucket, not the thimble.” But here’s the real problem-what if favoritism makes sure you don’t even get to stand in the rain? And let’s not even talk about families. When one sibling is showered with praise while the other is overlooked, it leaves scars for a lifetime. Not the kind you can see, but those that stay with you forever.

 

The kind that make you second-guess yourself, even years later. Some people like to call favoritism as an encouragement to make the beneficiary improve. But is it really ? Martin Luther King Junior had once said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” And favouritism is a silent injustice that people pretend isn’t a big deal, but it is. It crushes one’s confidence. It silences voices. It makes people feel invisible in a world where they have every right to be seen. And that is certainly heartbreaking. Favouritism may be everywhere, but that doesn’t mean we have to accept it. Schools, workplaces and families need to wake up. Start valuing effort. Start valuing talent. At the end of the day, success should be about merit, and every person deserves a fair shot.