Are you constantly comparing yourself with others?

Ever felt envious of the woman or man who seems to ‘have it all’? You likely don’t know much about them except what you assume when you encounter them occasionally. They seem ‘perfect’. On some level, they represent the ‘ideal life’ to you and you waste no time putting them on a pedestal. ‘My life would be perfect if I had everything they have too,’ you think enviously. And here begins a vicious cycle of comparison based on vague assumptions that make us feel inferior.

The truth is you know nothing about most other people. What you see is the image they choose to present to the world. Much like you. What you see is the burnished mask they wear everyday to impress those they interact with. Much like you. They are very different in private. Much like you. And they have their own struggles and sorrows. Just like you and every other human. No one can have it all.

Comparing yourself to others based on what you see occasionally and feeling jealous of others is a complete waste of your emotional energy. You end up feeling inadequate, but unable to do anything about it. A better way to channelize your precious energy would be to pick and choose the qualities that appeal to you and work on developing them yourself.

Any internal or external development entails the one thing that many are afraid of: change. Change in your environment, change in your behavior and changing the way you live. It is easier to continue wallowing in the insidious cycle of superficial assumptions and complain that we are ‘unlucky’ rather than putting in the hard work to develop ourselves, isn’t it?

In the end, you have no idea about anyone else’s life story except what they selectively choose to reveal to others but you do know one story: Yours. You know everything about your life and what needs to improve. Your story is a unique story. No one has a story quite like yours. Stop wasting time comparing yourself to anyone and start looking for ways to improve your story.