comparison is a thief of joy

welcome to introspection ft. harsehaj! ⭐️ i’m harsehaj, an 18 y/o always up to something in social good x tech.

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btw, feel free to reply with topic ideas you want me to write about for future posts.

onto today’s topic: comparison is a thief of joy 👮 

i’m sure you’ve heard that one before.

the most crushing feeling is getting excited over a personal win, and then thinking “well, x accomplished this ages ago.” school grooms us into adopting a competitive comparison mindset from a very young age. we’re all viciously fighting for the #1 spot with the highest average, with college admissions, with that summer internship, with that salary raise or with that startup funding round. 📈 

we rob ourselves of joy when we start comparing ourselves to others’ accomplishments. this comparison slowly grows into insecurity and even hostility as you think, “i wish i was born into generational wealth” or “i don’t think i’m cut out for this.”

i was finishing a colouring book with my little brother today and we were having a great time until he saw how much progress i made compared to the few shapes he managed to colour in. 🖍️ as soon as he made that comparison, he ditched whatever enjoyment he was having colouring together, and rushed the rest of his part to beat me.

finishing a colouring book isn’t a race, and neither is life. you don’t have to speed-run being a founder and drop out of college solely for the sake of “catching up.” life isn’t calibrated enough across the billions of people on this earth for there to even be a racetrack. 🏇 it’s more a unique, personalized hike that everyone takes to see the amazing views along the way. let’s hike together, not race against each other. (:

you can’t replicate someone else’s success, it’s all yours. your past, your struggles and your very own path bring you to your achievements. even if it may seem like others are 5 steps ahead of you, they haven’t taken all the same detours and pitstops as you have. it’s like comparing apples and oranges, no two lives are the same. 🍊🍎 

relish in your success, your joy, your milestones. they’re all yours and you should be proud of them.

you’re doing just fine. 💌 

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