In 2009, shortly after high school graduation, I attended a leadership conference led by Rotary International called RYLA. It was here that it really hit me that everybody has struggles, everyone deals with adversity, and everyone has a story.
This realization put me on a path to stop comparing myself to other people. In high school, I looked around and thought that everybody’s life was better than mine. This thinking was not productive. Instead of comparing myself with others, I should have been using that time to build the life that I wanted for myself. I stopped lurking through Facebook and studies show time and time again that comparing yourself to your Facebook friends can actually make you depressed. While it’s fun to look through travel pictures of my friends, and stay up-to-date with their lives, I make a conscious decision to remember that they are humans and social media can be deceiving.
The deception of social media is a topic I know far too well. One of my jobs is consulting to business about how to make their images look good and appeal to people.
In short, I am a huge believer of intentional thinking. When I decided to stop comparing myself to others, I began living a happier and more authentic life. Try it!
