We tend to compare our lives to others.
When we do this with people who we perceive to have more than us (money, stuff, looks, friends, etc.) we feel bad.
Noticing when we are falling into this pattern is important as it can help us:
- Gain a more balanced perspective.
- Recognize that those people's lives are curated to appear a certain way.
- Realize that if we instead focus on what we do have we feel more gratitude, compared to our past selves or those who may not have much as we do.
A way of understanding Social Comparison is the analogy of the medalists on the Olympic podium (gold, silver, bronze).
Generally, the gold medalist is the happiest, while the bronze medalist is likely the next most happy.
This is because the silver medalist is looking up at gold and comparing themselves negatively (upward social comparison), while bronze is happy they medaled and got on the podium (compared to those who didn't medal at all).
Your call to action:
- Notice how often you negatively compare yourself to others this week.
- Gently challenge those negative judgements and think of something for which you feel proud or grateful.