THE LEDGE: The Cloud of Comparison

By Byron Washington, Columnist

“Comparison is the thief of joy” – Theodore Roosevelt

As our world is being driven and directed more and more by social media, the silent killer Comparisonis able to create additional havoc and derail lives.

When people post on social media they usually work very hard to show their best.  The best picture of them as a couple, the best picture of them on vacation, the best picture of them at work and the list goes on.  And if we compare our life to theirs based on their timeline, tweets, or videos we may not measure up.

I spoke with a gentleman a few weeks ago who seemed to be overwhelmed with his life as if he was not progressing and was stuck.  He was 26, already had his master’s degree, had lived in three different countries, and spoke fluent Spanish and French. He is conversational in Mandarin, and had worked at one of the most prestigious organizations in the world.  He had also done work in his community.

But let each man prove his own work, and then shall he have his glorying in regard of himself alone, and not ofhis neighbor – Galatians 6:4

Here was the problem…he was looking at his “friends” on social media and he felt like they were “living” a better life.  He felt like they had done more and were surpassing him.  Was that the truth?  Hardly. I asked him a series of questions and as he answered them he realized that he was doing and had done more than he gave himself credit for.  None of his other friends had a master’s degree, only two of them had even traveled outside of the country, he went to school on scholarship, they didn’t, and the list went on.

“… comparison is the fast track to unhappiness. No one ever compares themselves to someone else and comes out even.” – J. Canfield

Comparison can be a motivator.  In some cases, it can even fuel our desire to want to work harder. However, if we constantly bombard ourselves with images of people or things and compare what we see on social media to our life we will be robbing ourselves of who we are and our achievements. We devalue who God made us to be when we spend all day wishing we “were like them” or that we “had their life.”

As we peruse social media, let us all be mindful not to allow our lives to be engulfed by the cloud of comparison.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God afore prepared that we should walk in them.– Ephesians 2:10

Byron Washington, MPA is an author, consultant, youth mentor, and life coach. He and his family currently reside in Shanghai, China. For more about him visit www.byronwashington.com.