The Thief Of Joy

There’s a saying that goes, “Comparison is the thief of joy.” Growing up, we all have struggled with comparison leaving us feeling “not enough”. It started off academically, with marks and percentages in school, where we would often compare our grades to those of our peers. As we all know, there will always be that one neighbor bragging about her kids’ achievements to our parents, making our self-esteem plummet. Moving forward, as we grew into adolescence, I’am sure some of us have wrestled with our body image, making us feel like we’re too small or too big or too fat for our age ,even though that was clearly our hormones in a developing stage. This pressure only intensified as we became more aware of societal standards of beauty, where we often found ourselves constantly measuring our worth against unrealistic ideals. It did not end there; Sometimes facing heartache at that age might shatter our already fragile self-image, leaving us feeling like we have fallen into a hollow pothole. Many of us have this Mindset that we need to be the best wherever we are or in whichever field we’re in, putting immense pressure on ourselves  to excel. When clearly, it’s not always possible to be at the top; life is more about the journey than the destination. The majority of the time, we would underestimate ourselves and our capabilities due to our self-doubt, which is a relentless shadow that will follow us everywhere. We may often strive for perfection instead of taking a moment to celebrate what we actually did and the progress we’ve made so far, forgetting that every small step counts. And what I have learnt so far is that It’s okay to not be the smartest, the brightest, the prettiest one in the room that you walked into and recognising beauty in others does not diminish, negate, or make your own beauty any less valid.

                                                   Xoxo.