Comparison is the Thief of Joy #015 - Featuring Hilari O'Neill

In this meaty topic I interview Hilari O'Neill a childhood friend, and we discuss how comparison is the true thief of joy!  Follow Hilari O'Neill on: Instagram : @sentimentsandstrings Etsy: SentimentsAndStrings “Comparison is the Thief of Joy” Do not assume that any new age will yield success; do not assign unrealistic expectations to your future self under the assumption that your true self, circumstances, etc will grow and change in accordance to meeting those standards on the timeline you’re setting for yourself somewhat obliviously. Your timeline, your journey will look different compared to what you original envisioned, let alone compared to anyone else’s.Know your values (these are fully formed by the time we reach adulthood) and don’t compromise them just to give off the perception that you’re successful – but don’t cast yourself under a veil of failure if your path(s) to success end up being a winding road versus a straight, direct path. A straight path is unrealistic. Obstacles will confront you. Achieving success is not a comfortable process – which is why having and knowing your morals and values is essential. Other’s perception of your life and success vs. your own understanding of yourself. Social media: paints a pretty picture, casts a filter (literally and figuratively) over everything, neglects too often to show the struggle/build up to the success = success is a natural inclination. This perpetuates the cycle of not sharing our most humanizing experiences that are far more unifying than successful conquests – grief, loss, failure, recovery, unexpected obstacles, getting knocked down and picking ourselves up over and over again. "One person’s measure of success is different from anyone else’s. Success looks and feels different for everyone. You’ll get there – in your own way, on your own time, by no certain age. This is the lesson I’ve learned from my twenties. You think you know it all when it comes to yourself (we’re sometimes programmed this way), but I think we’re all simply students, perpetually. We think that once we earn our little degrees and attempt to take on adult responsibilities and set bigger goals for ourselves that we can and should have it all figured out. But we don’t, and we can’t. The key is accepting those things and building off of them." ~ Hilari O'Neill