In this episode, we talk about that very normal, very annoying experience of looking at someone else and thinking, How are they doing all of that? Sarah thinks of people juggling parenting, careers, caregiving, YouTube, groups, books, and actual life admin. Stefanie thinks less about quantity and more about quality, like the people who seem to have the team, the polish, the systems, and the professional course suite.

So we get into what comparison is actually poking at: capacity, overwhelm, uncertainty, caregiving, business pressure, self-judgment, and the fear that everyone else is somehow moving forward while you are still trying to answer one email from the book cover designer.

Sarah talks about caring for her dad while he's very unwell, the anticipatory grief of not knowing what comes next, and the strange guilt of finding something hard when you can imagine someone else having it harder. Stefanie talks about the difference between what people see online and what they don't see: the areas where work feels alive and energizing, and the other areas of life where the wheels are maybe not exactly spinning gracefully.

We also discuss why frustration can sometimes feel preferable to fear or despair, how comparison fills in the blanks of other people's lives, and why someone else's strengths are not separate from the rest of their actual life.

A conversation about capacity, comparison, caregiving, business, burnout, admin dread, hidden deficits, visible strengths, and the exhausting little fantasy that everyone else has somehow been issued more spoons and a better working relationship with productivity.

STEF LINKS:

Emails

Instagram

YouTube

Substack

SARAH LINKS:

Blog

YouTube

Groups