Last week was a bit of a busy one for me and I felt the after effects of it for days. It took me almost another whole week to recover. The frustrating thing about this was that everything I did during my busy week was stuff I wanted to do and I enjoyed doing, but I guess it was too much for me.
I get so annoyed when this happens because not only am I struggling afterwards, but I compare myself to the many people around me who seem to be able to handle life better than me. I look at friends who seem to be working full-time, being social, volunteering, etc. and I wonder why I can't handle what they can. I'm not even working very much right now and I still get exhausted so easily!
When I start to feel this way, I find my joy and contentment with my life get snatched away. It's so easy to look at everyone around me and wonder why I'm not like them, can't handle what they can, or don't have what they have. I can be perfectly happy with my life until I look at everyone around me. Then I start comparing and before I know it, I'm miserable and depressed.
My current mental health doesn't always allow me to do what a lot of other people can do, and I'm trying to accept that. Most of the time I can accept this, but there are definitely times when I get upset with myself for not being able to handle seemingly simple things that it seems everyone around me handles effortlessly.
However, I have met and talked with many people who feel the same way as I do and I think I am slowly learning to accept who I am, struggles and all. It's ok to have boundaries and only do what I am able to do in a day, week, or month. If I push myself, it will be me who suffers, not the people I am comparing myself to. I know I feel better when I listen to my body and set limits for work hours, social hours, productive hours, and so on.
So this post is to encourage those of you who struggle with comparison like me. You are not alone. It is healthy to set boundaries and to care for yourself. Don't compare yourself to those around you because you are not them. And remember that you only see a fraction of peoples' lives and while many people appear to have it all together, many of us are barely holding it together some days. So let's be an encouragement to those around us because you never know who is having a tough day. <3
