Comparison is the thief of joy – Theodore Roosevelt

We have all heard the famous Theodore Roosevelt quote “comparison is the thief of joy”. Hell, we are all guilty of splashing that quote around, decorated in a tonne of inspirational gifs and stickers across our social media pages. Yep, myself included.

But how many people actually believe in it??

I know I do.

Yet still we compare our lives to that of those around us.

We constantly hear others lamenting that they’re almost *insert age here* and they still don’t have a house, or they’re not married, or they haven’t done this or that.

But the real question here is, when are you really supposed to have your sh*t together by??

The short answer? Never.

It’s that simple. There is no magical age where it all just suddenly clicks, and everything is all rainbows and glittery unicorns. The endgame of life is the same for everyone. No exceptions.

Who the f*ck cares if you don’t own your own house by a certain age? Who the f*ck cares that you aren’t married by, say, 30? Life is for living. So, live it.

But not everyone has these goals in life.

And those that do, stop comparing your lives to others!

And ignore the gossip of others or the mental barrage of self-thought that usually goes along the lines of “oooohhh why don’t you have this yet? You’re not getting any younger. Better have something to show for your life soon otherwise you’re a disappointment” or a many other myriad of thoughts.

Here’s  my personal favourite: “why don’t you have kids yet? You’ll regret it if you don’t.” My usual response to this is either “f*ck off” or “does that mean you’ll babysit full time for me if I do?”. They usually back pedal pretty darn quickly with that one. I know that I don’t need children to be happy. I just spoil all of my nieces and nephews absolutely rotten. No f*cks given.

There is absolutely no rush to achieve such large goals.

In many cases, the disappointment felt by many stems from the lack of instant gratification available. They see their friends fall in love, move in together and get married all in just a few short months, and get instant FOMO (fear of missing out for those not up with the lingo). They think there is something wrong with them, that they’re missing out. Like having a huge arse bill to pay every fortnight in the terms of a mortgage is something to be excited about.

So they go out and look for anyone with moolah who can buy those things for them. But that instant gratification doesn’t last long. They get restless and agitated. They start looking at those around them and go why don’t I have that. They start comparing their own life with others. And the entire cycle starts again.

The grass is not necessarily greener on the other side.

If you want to be happy and have a life full of joy, nurture your own f*cking grass and stop comparing your life to others. If you want something, work for it. You’ll appreciate it more and you’ll be able to look back at the journey and appreciate the experiences that have led to your own personal growth.

And why the hell must everything be done and dusted by 30 anyway? 30’s are the new 20’s so f*cking go out and LIVE!