How crazy is it to think that we wake up… brush our teeth, check social media and for a lot of us… start comparing ourselves and our lives to other people's. Social media has made it so easy- too easy- to compare what we have or don't have or what we are doing or aren't doing- to people we don't even know. Some days it may affect us more than other days… but the real trick here is to realize that today, we live in a comparison culture. And we have to make an actual effort to resist comparing ourselves to everyone else and have a plan for how we are going to manage these feelings when they come up. Concentrating on what other people are doing - and spending time questioning why they got there or how or being jealous or criticizing gets you nowhere. Instead, you can use that same energy to fire yourself up- and see what's possible. Today we are talking about the comparison culture that we are living in and how to manage it in a healthy way that motivates and inspires us, not makes us depressed! Here are a few things Lindsay talks about… -When you're 90 and looking back- you aren't going to think about comparing yourself to other people- instead you'll compare what you did and who you were to the best possible version of yourself. And the goal is for those to be pretty closely aligned. -We know this is the highlight reel of people's lives but we still let it get in our head. -Some people we know and other people we don't know. -Often times when we are younger, we consume all this content and let it get to us!! We spend lots of time on it. -But then…. You realize it's a HUGE waste of time. -It's all about bandwidth. We all only have so much bandwidth. If you go down a rabbit hole fighting with strangers on Twitter… that's using up your bandwidth. If you're sitting for hours on Instagram looking at what other people have and either allowing yourself to feel shitty as a result or hate on them or judge them… or decide what's not fair about your life or why they actually SUCK… -You can use it get FIRED UP about it. There's no positive benefit in underestimating someone. -It's motivating. Sometimes you have to go to work. If you see someone doing what you want to be doing.. or doing it faster or better… -You should be thankful there are people out there KILLING IT- it makes you want to run harder, push myself… it makes you want to work harder. -As long as someone isn't doing anything bad or hurting anyone…. Why hate on what they are doing -They are showing you that it's possible to do better than you are doing and that's GOOD. At the end of the day we are completing with one person- ourselves. The best version of ourselves. -FOMO- missing out on something better that you think you should have We end up comparing what we have to what we dont have This mindset makes you feel like whatever you are doing isn't enough. -Social media started as a way to keep up with people that you like… but now is often a way to come to look at people with a side eye!! -Maybe you're looking at how much money someone has or the vacations someone is going on or who they married… -Your happiness becomes a moving target. -Often times we are spending time on things we can't control. If you can't control it… let it go. It doesn't serve you. -Remember- on social media- you are only seeing the highlights reel. -We have to have an actual plan as we consume the content that people strategically put out. CHEERS- to only completing with yourself!!