Comparison is the thief of joy. It robs us of our gratitude because we’re either too busy being envious of something we don’t have, or being prideful that what we do have is better than so-and-so’s. Remember the term “Keeping up with the Jones'”? (Do people still use that phrase?) You could see it as an endearing way of striving for “better” so that we don’t become content with “not good enough”. However, everyone’s “better” looks different. If you ask a group of people what success means to them, I bet it will be a different definition to each person.

I remember when I first moved to Los Angeles from Hawaii, and I thought “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I made it all the way here. I can’t believe I’m already working as an actress just weeks after I changed my address.” I felt pretty great about myself until the auditions started wearing on me. When you’re sitting in the waiting room eager for your name to be called, sometimes other actors in the room will start chit-chatting about their career or what they’ve been up to lately. Continue reading “The Problem with Comparison” →