Tag: Comparison

Stop comparing yourself with others

Comparing ourselves with others does not do any good, rather it adds to our mental stress and anxiety. In the era of social media, everybody showcases themselves on some of the other platforms. Some of the people start feeling inadequate whether be it in looks or their career or any aspect of their life. This feeling of inadequacy might harm your mental health, and make you feel miserable.

Comparing yourself to others will not lead you to any greater heights, you must realize that everybody has their own pace of growth in life. Some people may succeed early and some later. So you should stop comparing yourself with others. It affects mental health to such an extent that you give up trying and start thinking that you are not enough. You may feel that you do not have the right body figure, or you might feel that you are not beautiful enough, or that you are not successful enough. But social media is just for showing off all the good things happening in others’ life and you must understand that the photos may be filtered.

You must work on yourself rather than comparing yourself with others. Sometimes the comparison can be healthy and it may lead you to improvement in yourself but many times it works the opposite way on our mind. When you check apps like Instagram and LinkedIn, all you see is people posting about their achievements and success and it makes you feel like you are doing something wrong in your life, questions like “Am I not doing enough? Am I not good enough”, pops up in your mind. You spend your energy comparing yourself with others without realizing that this time could be used up to improve yourself or work upon yourself if you want to succeed.

Remind yourself of the things that you are grateful for, be it your relationships with others or any of your hobbies or anything.

We start thinking that our worth is defined by the number of likes on our posts or the fake good comments by people. But nobody cares what you post on social media and neither should you care what others post. Just see it and feel that, okay, they are doing good in their life and there is no need to feel jealous, you are on your journey to success.

There will be many positive changes in your life when you stop comparing yourself with others. Your mind will be at peace, you will be able to concentrate on your growth much more, you will feel grateful for what you have, and you will at peace with your mind.

Some quotes that might help you:

  1. “The most powerful relationship you will ever have is the relationship with yourself.”
    ― Steve Maraboli
  2. “We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.” – Dalai Lama
  3. “How you love yourself is
    how you teach others
    to love you”
    ― Rupi Kaur

Coercion under English Law and Indian Law- A Comparative Analysis

Under Section 15 of Indian Contract Act, 1872 –

“Coercion” defined – “Coercion” is the committing, or threatening to commit any act forbidden by the Indian Penal Code, or the unlawful detaining, or threatening to detain, any property, to the prejudice of any person whatever, with the intention of causing any person to enter into an agreement. (45 of 1860).

Explanation.- It is immaterial whether the Indian Penal Code is or is not force in the place where the coercion is employed. (45 of 1860).

Coercion as defined under Section 15. It corresponds with most part with ‘Duress’, known to English Law.

Coercion comprises of the following two elements :

  1. Committing or threatening to commit an act which is contrary to law with the intention of causing any person to enter into an agreement ;
  2. Which compels an individual to act in an involuntary manner.

In case a contract is entered into by coercion, the contract shall be voidable under Section 19 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872.

Also, in case certain money has been paid or goods been delivered by the party to the contract under coercion, the same is recoverable under Section 72 of the Act.

Coercion: Voidable Contract

To cause any person to enter into an agreement is not necessary. It has been held in Purushottam Daji Mandalik v. Pandurang Chintaman Biwalkar[1] Plaintiff sued the defendant to set aside a sale-deed on he ground of coercion under Section 39 of the Specific Relief Act, 1963. Particulars of the coercion alleged were given in the plaint and further elucidated in the plaintiff’s deposition and supported by definite willingness to the effect that here has been open and violent abduction and severe beating to procure signature of the document. The contract was declared voidable.

Burden of Proof

The invalidating circumstances, which allege coercion must be stated by the party relying on the defence of coercion. Therefore, the aggrieved party which wants to set aside the contract will have to establish that the consent was obtained by coercion.

Duress

What the India Law calls coercion is called in English duress or menace. Duress is said to consist in actual or threatened violence or imprisonment of the contracting party or his wife, parent or child, inflicted or threatened by the other party or by one acting with his knowledge and for his advantage. Duress must be such as to cause immediate violence and also to unnerve a person with ordinary firmness of mind.

Test for Duress

The person who applies pressure to extract a promise from another is not allowed to excuse his wrongful behavior by using other reasons which the victim may have had for making the promise. In the case of Barton v. Armstrong[2], where the Court observed that it is enough that the pressure “was a reason (not the reason, nor the predominant reason nor the clinching reason) why the complainant acted the way he did.” In this case: A exerted pressure on B by threatening to kill B if he did not enter the agreement. There were other commercial reasons which might have induced B to enter into the agreement even in the absence of the threats from A. It was held that it was enough that A’s threat was a reason that contributed to the decision to enter into the agreement. It was not necessary to show that it was the prime reason.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN COERCION AND DURESS

Coercion in India means committing or threatening to commit an act forbidden by the Indian Penal Code, duress under common law, consists in actual violence or threat of violence to a person. It includes doing of an illegal act against a person, whether it be a crime or a tort. Unlike coercion, duress is not confined to unlawful acts forbidden by any specific penal law like the Indian Penal Code in India.

Detaining a property or threatening to detain any property is also covered within the definition of coercion whereas duress is constituted by acts or threats against the person and not against his property.

India, coercion may proceed from a person who is not a party to the contract, and it may also be directed against a person who, against, may be a stranger to contract i.e. a third party.

Duress does not cover acts done by a party to the contract, or a person stranger to contract. In England, duress should proceed from a party to the contract and is also directed against the party to the contract himself, or his wife, parent, child, or other near relative.

[1] AIR 1968 SCR 705

[2] UKPC 1976 AC 104