Day 11: Comparison is the thief of lots of things

I KNOW comparison steals my joy. I lived it in that hole for years before finally deleting social media from my life.

Even now, I find myself in comparison loops. So here’s what I’ve learned:

I can fall into comparison with or without social media. While I know for myself that social media shoves me off the cliff at a faster clip, I can compare myself to anyone at any time. Things that particularly trip me up are:

• Things I feel I’m already good at (my job, parenting, putting food on the table with relative regularity)

• Things I want to be good at (writing/completing a novel, losing weigh, keeping my skin clear)

When I see others excel in these things, I compare myself to them and usually get frustrated with myself (joy stolen).

Here’s where the second part comes in: it’s not just stolen joy. It’s stolen productivity. Stolen progress. Stolen motivation. Stolen contentment. Stolen peace.

I don’t want to give all those things up any longer. I’m choosing to keep my joy. To see others as brothers and sisters on a journey, to learn from and to encourage.