Dealing with “Comparison Anxiety” Made Simple

Steps Towards a More Fulfilling Life

Zidor
3 min readMar 5, 2024
AI created with author

Feeling overwhelmed by flawless images on social media and wondering why everyone else’s life seems perfect? In this post, I talk about something we all deal with, a gnawing irritant called comparison anxiety.

This is that feeling we get when we look at other people and feel like we’re not good enough. You know, like when we see someone’s perfect vacation photos on social media and start feeling down about our own lives. Well, we’re not alone. As early as 1954, psychologist Leon Festinger highlighted the natural human tendency to compare ourselves to others.

Nowadays, social media worsens this issue, making comparisons even more challenging. We’re bombarded with these picture-perfect snapshots of other people’s lives. We see their amazing trips, their job promotions, their happy moments, and we can’t help but feel like we’re falling short in comparison.

It’s completely acceptable to grasp the idea that feeling down while comparing ourselves to others is normal. According to Festinger, who studied this stuff, it’s natural for us humans. Nevertheless, the bottom line is we have the choice not to let it conquer us! Knowing this can give us the strength to face comparison head-on with confidence and resilience.

--

--

Zidor

I am a student of life — devoted to "Discovery" -- observing and uncovering truths all around us - and offering that learning to those who wish to listen.