In a world encapsulated with social media it is so easy to compare ourselves to one another. We see the highlighted versions of other people’s lives and immediately begin to contemplate our own self-worth.
“She has a way nicer body than I do – how is she so skinny?”
“She has such nice clothes.”
“She is so cool and fun, she’s always travelling – look at this picture of her in Italy.”
“She is so popular.”
“She is so put together.”
“I see her in the library all the time, I wish I had her work ethic.”
“She is always smiling, people tend to gravitate towards her.”
These are just a fraction of the many comments we make to ourselves or to our friends about others we marvel at. Whether it be the pictures we see on social media, or the people we see in real life, we seem to always compare and often this leads to questioning our own self-worth.
Instagram is one very small part of a person’s life and you cannot compare your entire being to one picture of a girl smiling in front of the Eiffel tower, looking care-free. Nor can you compare the way you look to a picture of someone post workout.
The girl you wish you looked like because she is ‘so skinny’ might be that way because she may be doing so unhealthily. The girl you assume to be so smart with a great work ethic, might actually be failing a class.The person you marvel at for having so many friends, might feel incredibly lonely on the inside.
It is important to remember that just as easily as you compare yourself to other people, wishing you had their looks, life, or personality, there is someone who thinks the same about you!
There is someone who sees you in public and says to themselves “I love her hair,” or “She has such a nice smile, she seems so confident, I wish I could be more like her.” As much as you may be a secret admirer to someone, you also have those secret admirers!
It’s not easy to just stop comparing altogether, but, you can compare without questioning your self-worth. You can say, that girl is beautiful, I love her hair. But, I am also beautiful and I love my hair too. Another person’s beauty or life does not take away from your beauty or your life.
