#101 Overriding Social Comparison | Ronald Siegel, Ph.D.

Imagine that you've just come back from running your first half marathon. Imagine further that you’re not a natural runner and that the half marathon took you months of preparation.  You feel excited to share the news on social media when, lo-and-behold, you see a post of a friend that reads, “I just finished my 3rd Iron Man Triathlon.”

You think, “Damn.  I ran 13.1 miles, and my friend swam a few miles, biked 100, and then ran 26.2… and for the third time.”

Suddenly, you feel bad about something that had felt so good just minutes before.  You’ve engaged in social comparison, and that’s something all humans do.

How can we enjoy who we are, what we do, and so much of what life has to offer when our brains go into social comparison and make us feel worse?

Fortunately, I know just the guy to ask.  Dr. Ronald Siegel (https://drronsiegel.com/) is a professor at Harvard Medical School, a psychologist, and best-selling author who just wrote a must-read book called The Extraordinary Gift of Being Ordinary: Finding Happiness Right Where You Are.  Ron explains how our brains can both harm us or serve us and how to regain control over the default programming in very user-friendly ways.  The book has been widely loved by luminaries in the field of psychology and readers of all walks of life.

So, listen in as Ron unpacks how to override the brain’s tendency toward social comparison.

Ron's Book: https://amzn.to/3N1CT5D This is an affiliate link. It will provide me with a small commission on purchases made through it and help the podcast (but it won’t affect the price you pay).