I have to admit that I compare myself to someone... pretty much every single day. It's a serious battle I have with myself! This person has that, someone else has my dream job (or is just living their dream), how does that girl get to go on 500 vacations a year & not me? Without fail I either feel a. inadequate, or b. resentful. I swear I don't even mean to feel like this. Either way, comparison can spin me into a sour mood of jealousy real quick.
This just needs to stop! I honestly drive myself crazy sometimes.
Lately, in the last six months or so, I've developed a little thought process every time I catch myself comparing/being jealous.
I ask myself these questions:
Why does this photo/blog post/person make me have jerk/"less than" feelings?
Why do I feel jealous?
Nine times out of ten (or ten out of ten), it's my own problem! Usually when I feel jealous of someone, it's not because I want to do what they're doing, but because I truly feel I should be doing something more creative with my time. I love that world, but with my job schedule right now it's exhausting to even think about by the time I get home. I want to chase my own dreams! But I haven't done a lot of that. I project my own feelings onto some picture on Instagram (just an example). Which is not the poster's problem! I am not one of those mean commenters FYI. Sometimes I'm just scrolling & I see a photo of something/someone & I feel a pang of jealousy/envy & I have to stop. "NO! What that person is doing has nothing to do with you. You're feeling that way because you know you could/should be doing something different!" I don't want to give the implication that I hate everyone on Instagram that's having a good time, or being successful. I truly am so happy for all of my friends that are having success in their passions & dreams. It's about my own feelings about MY own life that can bring the happiness level down.
It's completely okay, & I think healthy, to consider the feelings you're having. Not just brushing them off like "I know I shouldn't be mad or jealous or compare myself to others, so I won't". That only solves the problem in that instance. You have to realize why you're having the feelings. What's going on with you that is making you feel this way? And what can you do to change that?
Once I've identified my own issues I can figure out what I need to change in my life in order to be happier. Obviously it's a work in progress. But it's better & the feelings are mostly fleeting. If anything it's a good reminder of what I want to accomplish with my time.
My goals on the subject could probably be summed up in the quote above. I just need to stop thinking about myself all the time :).
>>>image via (this quote is from the same talk I mentioned. A good read!)
My goals on the subject could probably be summed up in the quote above. I just need to stop thinking about myself all the time :).
>>>image via (this quote is from the same talk I mentioned. A good read!)
Hey, I do it too! I think we all do. And I'm sure there are a ton of people out there who are jealous of you in one way or another (kind of a self-esteem booster, right? haha). But it's definitely easy to compare every aspect about your life to the highlight reel of someone else's. I've regularly gotta remind myself to live & just BE IN my world. I read a good post a few months ago that really hit me --
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thedaybookblog.com/2013/12/ive-been-thinking-about-this.html?m=1
So good. Anyway. I think you're fabulous! I love reading your thoughts & seeing your pictures -- from my vague perspective, you have a beautiful life :) and you have so much going for you! I hope work slows down enough where you can find time to delve into one of your passions! :)