Why being you is enough: Escaping the comparison trap

By: Aruna Dorairaj

I used to think I was the only one who felt this way. No matter how hard I tried, I was always behind someone else. Someone smarter. Prettier. More talented. Better. Safe to say it wasn’t just social media. It happened in school, in class and even in my head. What started as admiration quickly turned into comparison, and soon I realised that comparison is the quickest way to forget your worth.

The Silent Struggle

Maybe you’ve felt it too—scrolling through Instagram, watching someone post perfect selfies, amazing vacations, and high grades and thinking, “Why can’t that be me?” Or sitting in class next to someone who always seems to understand everything faster and wondering if, after all, you’re just not good enough.

The truth is, most people are silently fighting that same feeling. All of us tend to normalise comparing ourselves to others and it’s almost natural. In the long run, it’ll start becoming dangerous when it makes us feel small or worthless. We compare our behind-the-scenes to someone’s highlight reel.

We don’t see the bad days, the stress, the self-doubt they carry too. We just see the perfect photo, the perfect grade, the perfect moment—and forget that it’s only a piece of the story. Everyone is dealing with something. Hence, believe me when I say, no one has everything figured out.

The Real Competition

You. Yes, you. What if we stop competing with others and start focusing on ourselves? What if our goal was to simply be a better version of who we were yesterday, not better than someone else?

After all, growth isn’t about winning against others. It’s about becoming kinder, more resilient, stronger and more you. No one else can be better at being you than you.

You Are Enough

Maybe you don’t have to be the best at everything. Maybe, you don’t have to look a certain way, act a certain way or meet anyone’s sky-high expectations but your own. You’re not falling behind. You’re not failing either. You’re growing—and growing takes time.

Let this be your reminder: Being you is more than enough. After all, life is too precious not to live it to your fullest.