Comparison: How to Use it to Better Yourself and Not Steal Your Joy

COMPARISON IS THE THIEF OF JOY.

Sound familiar? I’ve heard this phrase used many times in many different situations.

The comparison game, we all play it. Whether we want to or not, we compare ourselves to others, our lives to other people’s lives.

I know we all like to refer to Instagram as the “highlight reel,” which it is most of the time. We like seeing happy, inspiring things on social media. Rarely do people post the difficulties of day to day life on their social media sites. That’s not what gets likes on posts.

If you’re like me, you may follow many bloggers on Instagram. I’m often influenced by the things bloggers post on their Instagram feed and Instagram stories. Most of the time I’m inspired by these ladies who are seemingly living their best lives. They inspire me to be the best version of myself and find the things to help me to be just that – the best version of myself.

However, sometimes I catch myself letting the comparison game steal my joy. It doesn’t happen often, because mostly I’m just thankful for the ladies who put their lives out there and inspire me daily. But when I see someone who just popped out a baby 5 seconds ago who finds the time to make it to the gym every day and already has her abs back, that can be upsetting to think about why I’m not there yet. I have to stop myself and realize that they have a completely different life than I do. They could have a nanny. They could get up at 5 in the morning before her baby gets up and go to the gym while her significant other stays home with the baby. They could be on a very strict diet to help them lose the extra weight faster. WHO KNOWS?! I sure don’t, so why am I comparing my situation to theirs?

As hard as it is NOT to compare our lives to the lives of others, it does happen. Wouldn’t it be great if we could just be happy for the great things happening for other people? Someone else could be watching your highlight reel, wishing for the things you have in your life. As much as I envy all the people who get to travel often, I also am thankful to get to follow along with people traveling while I’m sitting at home. I think social media, such as Instagram, is such an amazing thing for us to be able to see so many other parts of the world.

“Comparison is the thief of joy.” But it doesn’t have to be. Next time you find yourself comparing your situation to someone’s highlight reel and start feeling down about it, try practicing gratitude instead. I think if we can all be happy for each other and all of the great things happening in people’s lives, it could really change a lot of people’s perspectives and change things for the better.

Meghan Culpepper
Meghan lives on the Northshore with her husband, Brandon, and their two boys. She grew up on the Northshore and happily settled back in to raise her family there. When she's not playing referee between her 4 & 2 year olds, she enjoys watching the Food Network and trying to actually learn how to cook (or bake!) Meghan loves being a boy mom and can probably win at any kind of Ninja Turtle trivia.

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