Squint
Anne Lamott said, “Never compare your insides to everyone else’s outsides.”
Don’t compare what you see in your Facebook newsfeed to what you see in your own house, because what you see in your feed—for the most part—is not reality. It’s not necessarily an intentionally misleading or a flat-out lie, but it’s not the whole story of that person’s life. If you unconsciously compare, your life may look like crap. So, to summarize–Your insides= the inside of your “house,” everyone else’s outsides=Facebook newsfeed.
I fall for it, too. I have to remind myself: That person has a much fuller life—one I know nothing about. It’s the less-shiny stuff that, I think, makes us more alike and bridges our humanity.
Carol Kent said, “People don’t identify with our successes nearly as well as they identify with our sadness and our sorrow.”
We think people will love and admire us more if we show the shiny. But the reflection just hurts our eyes.