Day 11 - I Release Doubt

1/12/20251 min read

Sometimes, I’m jealous of a high school classmate.

They took the path that I thought I would take once upon a time, and have had a LOT of success on it.

I see their life, and I wonder what could have been. I could have had a house in that area. I could have had children. I could have gotten that degree. I could have started an organization.

I could have. But I didn’t.

When I get on this comparison kick, all those “could haves” start piling up, and weighing me down.

They steal my joy.

They steal the joy I’ve had in walking a different path. The joy I’ve found in living in cities all over the US, and in countries all over the world. The joy I find in teaching. The joy I find in writing. The joy in having the freedom to go wherever I want, whenever I want, without asking permission.

It is so easy to compare ourselves to others, especially with social media. It’s so easy to feel like someone else’s life is better, or more successful, or richer, than yours is.

It’s so easy to let comparison rob us of the joy we’ve found in our lives, in the paths we’ve chosen. It’s easy to let comparison blur the beauty of our own journey.

Let’s stop, and let them go.

By letting go of our comparisons, we can focus on that joy, on that beauty. We honor who we are, we honor the life we have chosen. We embrace our thoughts and beliefs and decisions with love.

Let’s embrace that joy, that beauty, that love.

Let’s release comparisons.