The Thief of Joy
By now, we all know we shouldn’t compare ourselves to people we read about on social media. We know that blogs, instagram and facebook are opportunities for people to present only their best side to the world. The truth is, even when we’re being open and vulnerable, there are still things we’re leaving out. I try to be completely honest on my blog, but I’m still presenting a certain image of myself. Knowing this, why would I compare my life to the polished-up life someone is sharing on social media? But I’ve done it. I’ve wondered why I’m not reading that many books, or running that many miles, or crushing my strength training. For that matter, why am I not doing volunteer work, hiking with my family, going on fabulous trips, or running a marathon in every state? I love Jessie’s blog, The Right Fits. She’s a Minnesota runner on a quest to run a marathon in every state and on every continent. She runs 60-plus miles a week; her husband is also a runner; they have no kids, and they travel frequently for fun and, of course, to run marathons together. Obviously I wouldn’t give up my kids for anything, but in my other, fantasy life (I’m not the only one who has one of those, am I?) I’m Jessie- running lots of miles, with the freedom to travel and do pretty much whatever I want. But THEN… One day Jessie shared a post about the time she broke her leg, three weeks before she was supposed to run the Antarctica Marathon. She was on crutches, had to have surgery, and couldn’t run for seventeen weeks. It was truly terrible for her, and I appreciate her opening up about it like that. When I read it I realized, her life isn’t perfect either. We all have our challenges and struggles. For that matter, why was my other fantasy life in Minnesota, anyway? I would shrivel up and die in the Minnesota winters! No, I guess my regular life is pretty good after all. As Theodore Roosevelt said, “Comparison is the thief of joy.” It’s hard, when we’re constantly reading about and seeing pictures from other people’s lives, not to start comparing. We have to remember that the purpose of our community is to support each other and build each other up. Iron sharpens iron- we’re here to make each other stronger. When I’m tempted to start comparing myself to others, the thing that helps me the most is this quote from The Choice by Dr. Edith Eva Eger: “Only I can do what I can do the way I can do it.” This is true whether I’m running, writing a blog post, giving a massage, or raising my kids. Even though there are thousands of other people doing the same things, only I can do it my way. And only you can do it your way. We can get inspiration and ideas from other people, and then go on to live our own lives in our own way- no one else can do that. Have a unique and wonderful Friday! Do you compare yourself to others? Or are you able to resist that urge? –I think we all do it sometimes.