Our tendency to constantly compare ourselves to those around us is reaching epidemic proportions. It has always been a practice of us humans, but with social media came a whole other level of comparison. Our eyes and minds are assaulted all day long with images of people that we perceive to be doing better than we are. Their homes are larger, their vehicles are nicer, they seem to be having more fun, their children are more well behaved, they go on way more adventures, they are skinnier, more beautiful….you name it, we compare it.
I am so thankful to have grown up in the time I did. I didn’t have a cell phone until I turned 16 and it was only for emergencies while driving. I didn’t have social media until well into my Junior year of college. Any comparison I had to do was limited to the people I saw on a daily basis. Now, a 2 minute scroll through social media can leave me feeling behind in life in so many different ways.
Sweet friends, let me say this, as loudly as I can through typing – what you see on social media is not the entire story. You are comparing your real, raw, hard fought life to someone else’s polished version of theirs. You are comparing your worst to their best. And it isn’t healthy. We cannot equally compare ourselves to others, we set ourselves up for disappointment from the very beginning. We don’t have the same starting point as everyone else. Our paths are different, our resources are different, our relationships are different, our finances are different – and all of this is okay.
On top of the easy access to comparison, our ideals for basic human necessities have changed drastically. The size of our dream homes these days is so much larger than it was 20 years ago. The amount of items we collect is astonishing – our closets are larger, our homes are larger, our vehicles are larger. This lifestyle is not sustainable to most people – so we go into debt over it. Sweet friends, don’t allow what others have to make you feel left behind. Your life journey is your life journey. Lean into and love exactly where you are. Prioritize the things that matter most to you. Take the jobs you want. Buy the smaller home if it pulls at your heart strings, drive the old beater if you love the sound of the engine and the nostalgia it brings. DO YOU! We need you, on your own journey, doing your own thing. Much love and diverse paths sweet friends.
