Green-eyed beast

Let's start with another Roosevelt quote, shall we?

Comparison is the thief of joy.

-Theodore Roosevelt

 

Throughout my entire life, I have compared myself to others. In both areas that matter and those that don't. This has resulted in me being a bit... petty... when it comes to observing others' lives. Social media has definitely not helped this issue get any better. 

Rather than being happy for someone for the (admittedly limited view) of the things they have going on in their lives, I sometimes can't help but feel bitter as to why they seem to have certain things go their way and I don't. 

Real talk. Social media is fake. It's a forced perspective. I get this better than most since I work with social media on the daily (I'm even dreaming about it a lot lately - yuck!). And yet, I still fall victim to it. 

Why does Megan always seem to have it so easy?
Jackie's so pretty and she's had four kids. How does she look so good?
Gah, Cassie's so crafty. I have like zero abilities now.
Man, Ashley's living the dream. Dancing and yoga, all day, every day. 
Ellen gets to have the adventure of a lifetime with all her European adventures! Why did I only move to Florida as my escape from KC?

I need to make it stop.

No, I'm not going to remove myself from everything and go the Luddite way. Again, I kind of work with social on the daily, so that wouldn't fly. Instead, I'm just going to constantly remind myself of Roosevelt's words.

Comparison is the thief of joy.

As I wrote in my bullet journal last night (BTW - can I say how much I love that thing? Definitely not the fancy-schmancy type, but it's so much fun!), "Quit comparing yourself to others, you're on your own journey!" And it's true.

These girls and I may have had similar journeys at one point in time, or at least had our paths cross, but we've all gone down our own trails since then. I need to appreciate their journey and realize that while it may seem smoother than mine, that that's not necessarily the case. I'm only seeing a fraction of their lives - the same way they're only seeing a fraction of mine. And that's okay. 

I'm not them. They're not me. We all have our own journeys to take.  And who knows, there may be someone out there who looks at my life with a bit of envy. Stranger things have happened.