Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Keeping Proper Perspective

"Comparing how you feel on the inside (bad) to the way someone else looks on the outside (great) is a losing proposition. It's an impossible standard. We will always come up short. Women in particular know what I'm talking about: We often compare ourselves to others in order to make ourselves feel bad.
"Here's Maria's Recipe for Feeling Bad about Myself: I carefully choose as a basis for comparison someone who has a stellar career. Then I ignore any other problems she has, any sacrifices she's chosen to make. Next I discount any of my own assests- the talents, gifts, and abilities God gave me. Finally, I rachet up my expectations for myself to way, way past what I'm capable of. And voila! I feel like dirt. It's a recipe for depression. Comparing yourself to others rarely is in the service of self-improvement. It's usually in the service of bludgeoning yourself into hopelessness."

-Maria Shriver, "Ten Things I Wish I'd Known- Before I Went Out into the Real World"

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