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When is it a mistake to compare the life you're living to the life others are living and when can it be productive?
Monday, July 17, 2023
Chapter 43: “The Podcast of Revelations”
When is it a mistake to compare the life you're living to the life others are living and when can it be productive?
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I agree with Nora. If you look at other people's lives to highlight the deficiencies of your own life, it's typically a negative thing. If you look at other people's lives for inspiration to do something in your life that's typically a good thing.
ReplyDelete-Byron
I agree with Nora's sentiment. Sitting around thinking about how your life could be different distracts you from what you're actually living. It is a mistake to compare your life to others because they have more than you, but it is okay to look at their lives and recognize some of the things you want to do with yours.
ReplyDelete-Denna Bussinger
I agree with Nora, but I think the real reason it is a waste of time is simple: You can not have any other person's life but your own. It is a mistake to compare your life to another in hopes that you could be them. It can be useful to compare your life to someone else's if you are doing so for reasons outside of copying them.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree, I think that life is never going to be perfect - there is no way for it to be - therefore wishing it was is a fruitless effort. You can't spend your life wishing it was perfect, you have to live it.
ReplyDeleteHowever… in a world where there are infinite universes, wouldn't there be a universe that is? Sure, some things would be bad to the Nora that is in the world she is visiting - but if there are infinite possibilities with infinite Nora's, wouldn't one be just a perfect mix for her? The bad things in that universe could be great things for her.
I am not sure if I'm explaining this well, but basically what I mean is in a world with infinite universes, surely there is one out there Nora would consider perfect. I just question on whether she has time to try and find it with the library falling apart around her.
It's a mistake when that is all you do. It's productive when you see what you can reasonably do.
It can be a mistake when your constantly comparing your life to others because you don't think yours is good enough. It can become an unhealthy obsession that can ruin your mental health. It can be productive when you're actually trying to better your life, so you use someone else's as an example to motivate you to make yours better.
ReplyDelete-Abigayle Shropshire
I agree with Nora. The quote "Comparison is the thief of joy" hit the nail on the head. Many times comparison can cause you to be envious and always feel you are not enough. On the other hand, comparing yourself to others to learn from them can be very helpful.
ReplyDeleteWhat Nora means is that, effectively, you fault yourself for your sadness when you wish for others' lives, as though those paths don't carry their own miseries. It is good to compare your life to someone else's in a proactive way, ideally seeing what they are doing (i e. studying an artists's techniques, helping with charity, etc.) to further yourself. It is a waste when you focus on what you yourself are not doing compared to other people, as though every bad/alternative choice you've made is uniquely your fault.
ReplyDeleteI have always been the kind of person who compares myself to others around me. Whether it's the "oh she's skinnier than me" or "why can't I be that smart, " I tend to use it as a tool to put myself down. When I am around other people the first thing I do is think about who they are compared to who I am. Very rarely is comparing yourself to others going to help you. You may be 35 and wondering how someone younger is making more money but that 20 year old is wondering how you have already built a family and a life. No matter how "successful" someone may seem to you they are looking at someone else and wishing they could be them.
ReplyDelete