Comparison

When we go through something that impacts us significantly it changes things for us; how we feel about certain activities or events. It can lead us to feel resentful that our experience of something is so drastically different than others. Holidays and physical locations may not feel like they used to, or how they feel for us versus others may be different. It really sucks, I can’t and won’t deny that fact. The things we go through impact how we relate to the world around us and who we are, even though we want to move on and sometimes that happens faster than others and sometimes it feels like it may be impossible. Having experiences tainted for us and watching others around us not having the same experience can be a really big challenge and take a lot of effort to handle. We wish so badly that what happened didn’t and that we could have a different or better experience than we did. It can be hard to process the reality that things are different for us than for others or even just different than we imagined or dreamed it would be. We don’t dream about the struggles or the events that will impact our experiences in life and yet unfortunately it happens. When something happens, it can leave us with questions and uncertainty and wishing it wasn’t real, and it can be hard to process these things. For me, I struggle with hearing other people’s positive experiences around a job I had that while the work itself was great the interactions with the supervisor were not professional or okay. I hate every second of listening to others speak so highly of the job/person, and I wish that was my reality. It isn’t fair that I couldn’t have a positive experience like they did. Sometimes I don’t understand why I’ve been through what I’ve been through and why I couldn’t have had it easier like other people seem to have. I get caught up in the comparison of situations and experiences even though I know that comparing people and experiences won’t do me any good and isn’t fair to me. We don’t always know what the other people’s experience was really like, we only know what they tell and maybe they didn’t have as good an experience or have been through hard things they just don’t talk about. Everybody has a story and a journey and comparing ourselves doesn’t do anyone any favors. Wishing you haven’t been through what you have is a normal experience and part of the journey. That said if we focus on it and let it overwhelm our thoughts it isn’t helpful for moving forward or carrying on. Feeling frustrated about things that have happened or experiences with situations is valid, just don’t compare your story with someone else’s because it will only increase the frustration and struggle with your own story.

-Written By: C