You are not good enough, comparison says to me every day. I look at social media posts, and comparison tells me, I will never be good enough. I was never good enough to start, and I am going to end up being not good enough, even more.
Comparison tells me that I am ugly, fat, and stupid. It tells me that everyone else, out there, in the real world, is having more fun than me. That they are doing it better than me, no matter what ‘it’ might be. They are better at yoga than me. They are better meditators than me. Hell, they are even better lovers than me.
Comparison tells me I suck at life, I suck at adulting, and I suck at everything that I put my head and heart into. I hate myself, because of comparison. The comparison makes my life a living hell.
Comparison Is The Real Mind-Killer
Have you seen this quote from Dune, by Frank Herbert?
“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.” ― Dune
When I read this quote recently, I realized something. Fear is not the real mind-killer anymore. I think comparison, comparing ourselves to everyone around us and far away from us, due to social media, is the true mind-killer. It kills our minds and it kills our desires, passions, and dreams, by telling us we are not good enough, we will never be good enough, and we shouldn’t even try.
It kills everything good and joyful in us.
I wake up every day, happy and ecstatic to be alive. Stupidly, I open up Instagram, and I see everyone out there, not sleeping, not resting, but hustling, and building bigger and better things than me. I realize I am a fool. How could I believe that I was happy? I am not happy, I am miserable. Miserable at the thought of all that time wasted, and all of those people out there, who are better than me.
Why couldn’t I be more like them?
Switch Off Social Media
The interesting thing to me is that if I don’t do social media, or if I restrict my usage of it, I never ever feel bad for being me. I don’t have the chance to compare myself to others, and that means, that I don’t kill my mind.
I feel good about myself, and my life, and my projects when I avoid comparison through social media. If I could just get away from it completely, I can imagine my mental palace would be so overgrown and lush that I would be living in utter ecstasy.
The thing about social media nowadays is that you aren’t just comparing yourself to the Jones’ who are living next door. Oh no. You are comparing yourself to the Kardashians who live far away, and to the Prince and Princesses that are living in another country. You are comparing yourself to everyone everywhere.
That is a lot of comparison and that is a lot of mind-killing.
Comparison is the real mind-killer. Stop doing that to your beautiful, amazing, precious mind. It is capable of so much, as are you. The universe isn’t in a hurry for you to get there. You are anxious because you are comparing yourself to others. If you stop the comparison, you will realize you have an eternity to achieve everything you want to achieve.
Relax. The world is at your feet.
