Comparison is the Thief of Joy
Comparison is the thief of joy. You've heard the phrase before. And it couldn't be closer to the truth! As I was scrolling through Instagram the other day, I caught myself feeling so awful. I came across fitness accounts of women that are absolute rockstars in the gym and have incredible bodies, I came across numerous talented photographers whose photos are the definition of perfection, and I came across people who just have dang cool Instagram accounts that have become "Instafamous" for that fact. Even at the gym, as I go through my workout, I find myself looking around the gym wishing I had that woman's biceps, and that gal's glutes, oh and that lady's hamstrings! (Let's be real, who doesn't want a perfectly sculpted peach, biceps, and that slight hamstring pop). We, especially women, so often compare ourselves to others, and social media has exemplified this problem of comparison over the last several years.
Does anyone else scroll through Instagram posts and instantly compare yourself? Being a photographer, comparison is not easily avoidable. I see other photographer's photos and I wonder why my work doesn't look like theirs. I wonder why I can't capture the raw emotion just like they did in that photo, or why I can't capture the light just right like in that particular photo. I struggle with consistency and finding my own style. I post a photo from my most recent session, and then as I'm scrolling I see another's photo and instantly I second guess whether my photo is worthy of posting. Sounds like a personal problem, right? Well, yes, it may be, but I know that I am not the only one out there that does this same exact thing.
Next time you find yourself scrolling through social media and feeling inadequate, remember, people put their very best on social media, and nothing but the best. You rarely see messy kitchens, makeupless selfies, or unposed booty pics. We naturally try to portray ourselves in the best light possible. We capture cool photos when we go on vacation to cool places. We take that selfie when the lighting is just right. We clean our kitchen and position the fabulous meal that we just prepared just right, so it looks like we've got it all together. And THAT'S GREAT! I do the same exact thing. But let's be real y'all, our lives are messy. Our kitchens are messy and our selfies are not always perfect. My day to day life is probably not nearly as exciting as my Instagram page portrays it to be. I often work nights, get peed on or spit up on at least once a shift, and eat supper on my living room floor, and that's okay. But as we scroll, we need to remember this. We are not perfect and we can't compare our mundane Monday at work to someone else's fabulously portrayed vacation in Bora Bora (although we may all wish we were in Bora Bora on this cold November day).
So, how do we prevent comparison from stealing our joy? There are some really awesome people that are doing really awesome things with their lives, and sometimes we do really awesome things with our lives. But you are a really awesome person, eating Chinese takeout on your living room floor, or wiping baby puke off of your shift that you've already changed 3 times today. Our worth is not based on the number of followers that we have or the number of likes that we get. We can't find our own worth looking at other people's lives, so why do we look there?!
We can't be so hard on ourselves. Let's live our lives with purpose and not worry about comparison. Let's celebrate each other's victories. And let's be REAL, transparent, and raw.
That's it for today.
Does anyone else scroll through Instagram posts and instantly compare yourself? Being a photographer, comparison is not easily avoidable. I see other photographer's photos and I wonder why my work doesn't look like theirs. I wonder why I can't capture the raw emotion just like they did in that photo, or why I can't capture the light just right like in that particular photo. I struggle with consistency and finding my own style. I post a photo from my most recent session, and then as I'm scrolling I see another's photo and instantly I second guess whether my photo is worthy of posting. Sounds like a personal problem, right? Well, yes, it may be, but I know that I am not the only one out there that does this same exact thing.
Next time you find yourself scrolling through social media and feeling inadequate, remember, people put their very best on social media, and nothing but the best. You rarely see messy kitchens, makeupless selfies, or unposed booty pics. We naturally try to portray ourselves in the best light possible. We capture cool photos when we go on vacation to cool places. We take that selfie when the lighting is just right. We clean our kitchen and position the fabulous meal that we just prepared just right, so it looks like we've got it all together. And THAT'S GREAT! I do the same exact thing. But let's be real y'all, our lives are messy. Our kitchens are messy and our selfies are not always perfect. My day to day life is probably not nearly as exciting as my Instagram page portrays it to be. I often work nights, get peed on or spit up on at least once a shift, and eat supper on my living room floor, and that's okay. But as we scroll, we need to remember this. We are not perfect and we can't compare our mundane Monday at work to someone else's fabulously portrayed vacation in Bora Bora (although we may all wish we were in Bora Bora on this cold November day).
So, how do we prevent comparison from stealing our joy? There are some really awesome people that are doing really awesome things with their lives, and sometimes we do really awesome things with our lives. But you are a really awesome person, eating Chinese takeout on your living room floor, or wiping baby puke off of your shift that you've already changed 3 times today. Our worth is not based on the number of followers that we have or the number of likes that we get. We can't find our own worth looking at other people's lives, so why do we look there?!
We can't be so hard on ourselves. Let's live our lives with purpose and not worry about comparison. Let's celebrate each other's victories. And let's be REAL, transparent, and raw.
That's it for today.
With love, Kati
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