Comparisons are the worst. They're really bad. Comparisons are poison. What is a comparison? A comparison is analyzing two or more things and seeing their similarities, their resemblances, what they have in common, and their differences. For example, these two spoons. What are their similarities? What do these two spoons have in common? Well, they're both spoons and they serve the same purpose: to scoop soup, cereal, or milk. They serve the same function, the same action. But what's the difference? This one is big and this one is small. They're different spoons. And the handles are different too.

They're different spoons. And we can compare them. That's a very simple comparison. Another comparison: This is a book. And this is an e-book. A digital book. They're the same thing, but they're different. The e-book needs electricity. The book doesn't; the e-book can be read without light, but to read a book you need light. You need light to see the pages. The book is heavier, it weighs more and the ebook is lighter, easier to carry, more portable.

The book is just one. There is only one book. Inside, there are many books. Not just one. There are many books. They are similar, but they are not the same. We have compared the two objects. Which is better? Well, that depends on personal taste. And that's where the personal aspect comes into play in the comparison. Everyone's own ideas. Each person compares what they see. They compare two or more things and, depending on their tastes, prefer one or the other. For example, I prefer action and romance movies to horror movies. But there are people who will be the opposite.

But these comparisons are still very simple and some comparisons aren't so good. I once read a phrase online that said comparison is the thief of joy, of happiness. And I had never thought about it, but I completely agree with this phrase. Comparison is very bad, especially when what you are comparing is yourself. For example, I'm heavier than a model, and that can make me feel bad. My hair isn't as silky, my curls and waves aren't as pretty; I like someone else's better. And this is when comparison isn't good. When your self-worth is lowered because you're comparing yourself

to someone or something you think is better, that you like more. Advertisements and social media are like that. They're a source of comparisons. In fact, the main goal of an advertisement is for you to compare yourself I really like that girl's hair. It must be because she uses that shampoo. I'm going to buy that shampoo so my hair looks the same. A comparison that creates insecurities so you'll buy. My teeth aren't as white as the girl's in the ad. I want my teeth to be just as white. I don't like my teeth. I'm going to buy the whitening toothpaste.

The goal of advertisements is to make you compare yourself to people who are heavily edited to look beautiful, so you feel the need to fix something that probably didn't have anything wrong to begin with, but now you think there is a problem. All of this is so you'll buy their product. And the same thing happens with social media. It's a little different, but it's still the same: with social media, we don't just compare one small thing like we do with an ad we compare our entire lives to other people's lives. What's the problem? The life we see on social media isn't even half of what that person is actually experiencing. So we're comparing ourselves to a small part.

The best part of someone's life. You start by seeing your friend's trip to Italy and you're really envious because you'd like to be there too. Why not? They're having a great time on the Italian beach. And then you get obsessed and end up wanting all the time in the world because the videos they have of their cat are perfect. It's the perfect cat. What is not shown by this person is that on their trip to Italy, their rental car broke down and they waited an hour and a half for a tow truck so they barely had any time on the beach.

What this person also doesn't show you in their videos is that the cat has broken half the things in their house. It's a very small cat, a very playful cat and it has way too much energy. It climbs everywhere and breaks everything. But they don't show you that on social media. All these comparisons only make us depressed in the long run. I've compared myself my whole life, consciously or unconsciously but I've compared myself. I like my friend's hair better than my own.

I'm a little heavier here. My friend is thinner. I've compared myself thousands of times and often the result is that I haven't felt as confident in myself. However, it wasn't until recently that I realized how bad, bad, bad comparisons are. And this was because I compared the thing I've been most proud of in my entire life to someone else's. My van, in my eyes, was perfect. It didn't need absolutely anything. Really. It's perfect. It has everything. I couldn't be more comfortable.

I love it. I love my van. This is my van. I live here, and I love this van. However, when I met another girl who also has a van she built herself and I saw that her solar system was more efficient and had more capacity because she has solar panels that tilt and collect the sun much more efficiently, that's when I started saying, "Wow, my electrical system isn't that good." Until then, I hadn't had any problems with my electrical system. I've never run out of electricity. I've never run out. I've always had enough.

Perfect electricity. Because I calculated it. I calculated how much electricity I was going to need. But because I've compared myself to someone else's van, my van isn't so perfect anymore. It could be better. The same goes for the shower. My shower doesn't have hot water. I don't like my shower tray as much; her's is better. I have to change it. It's not good enough. I don't like it. I used to be happy with my shower. Now I'm not. Why? Because I've compared myself to someone else's things. And I repeat, this van is the thing I've been most proud of in my life.

Because I built it myself. And it suits all my needs. However, I've fallen victim to comparisons and that's how I realized the saying is true. Comparison is the thief of joy and happiness. I invite you to join my community. It's super easy and completely free, and you can share your thoughts on comparisons. Have you ever compared yourself to others? How has this comparison affected you? I know it's difficult, but I encourage you not to compare yourselves to other people or things, and to be happy with what you have right now. And that's all. Bye.