Comparisons

Unless you have an identical twin, you are the only person in the world that is like you. Think about it for a second. Isn’t it amazing?

We are bombarded daily with images of people, who seem to have lives filled with adventures, have perfect families, successful careers and who ooze sexiness. And we look at our normal lives, filled with all the normal and boring things and it all just seems so grey and uninspiring.

Comparing ourselves to others is an adaptation, which helped our ancestors stay alive. They had to know where they stood in the pecking order. Not knowing could get them killed.  These days, things are not as serious. But our brains are the same. On top of it all, the internet gives us instant access to a huge number of people from all over the world. So we are not only comparing ourselves to our immediate community. We are also comparing ourselves to people we’ve never met. And even though we’ve heard of photoshop and we know that others are showing us only ‘the best bits’, our self-esteem seems oblivious to this knowledge and starts shrinking.

The saddest thing is, that in this madness of endless comparisons, we start viewing our uniqueness as bad. We find ourselves unhappy and frustrated, because others seem to be happier than us. It doesn’t matter that whatever they have, wouldn’t give us joy anyway. We forgot we’re not them.

So what can you do? Go back to basics. Less social media and more self-discovery. Invest time and energy in finding your uniqueness, your brilliance and your passions. And don’t stop there. Use your gifts wisely, to make this world a better place.