Steve. 33. Wakes up every Monday through Friday and heads to his 9-5 job. He sits in his cubicle and crunches numbers all day. He works for a large accounting firm that helps clients of all sizes and shapes with balancing their books. Steve also has a wife and a dog, both of which he loves very much. Each day Steve comes home from his job to his apartment that he shares with the two of them and hops on his computer. He goes to his usual sites, news, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, etc... Steve sees all of these other people living "the life". Traveling, beaches, partying, hot chicks, big boats, and so on... Each day he continually wonders why HE couldn't have been "blessed" with that life. Wonders why HE couldn't be doing those things. He then begins to think about the struggles he faces; a long term apartment lease, a car payment he can barely afford, a girlfriend pressuring him to commit, a dad who has grown sicker and sicker, and a dead end job doing something he doesn't love.Isaiah. 29. Wakes up every day to sunrise to shoot photos for his next instagram post. Sleeps in a 20 bed dorm on a paper thin mattress working as a freelance photographer in South America. He works for himself after graduating college and entering an internship for graphic design, but soon realized that he wasn't cut out for working for other people. Isaiah came from a single parent household and worked his way through college. He never could afford a nice car so didn't buy one upon graduation. He lived at home while working at his internship as he didn't know what his next plans were going to be. Everyday after shooting sunrise and the accompanying daily tour he returns to his dorm to begin editing. During his breaks he hops on the terrible Wifi and goes through his normal time wasters; Facebook, Instagram, YouTube... and sees all these people driving nice cars, wearing nice suits, living in luxury apartments in big cities. Then Isaiah wonders why HE didn't take that high paying job, why HE didn't invest in his retirement, why HE cant have the luxurious lifestyle. He then begins to think about the struggles he faces; a lack of work experience in the "real" world, the outbreak of bed bugs that has come to his dorm, the 4 outfits he has to rewear every week, the same rice and eggs he eats for every meal, and the fact he isn't sure where his life is heading.This thought came to me recently when watching a movie called Change Up. It was a simple comedy about two people wanting to switch lives with each other because they "thought" that the other was living a life of luxury. It taught them both some simples lessons. First, to take a walk in each someone's shoes before passing judgement. Then second, to appreciate what they had in their own lives. They both had amazing things right in front of them, but were blinded by their comparison to each other. They found out things about each other that they were hiding and revealed some truths in their relationships that had been hidden for so long. What is it that you need to ask yourself or reveal to yourself to allow you to go after the things that you want?Both Isaiah and Steve wonder why their lives can't be more like someone else's. They look out into the world and see what other people have that they don't. They live their life as is it is not their life, but the life through the lens of someone else. This is the problem with social media in today's world. WE constantly look at the things that we believe we need or want in our lives to make us happy, to give us fulfillment. We constantly compare our situation to others by saying I wish I could "have your life" or "do what you do". The thing is... that we don't. We need to stop comparing our lives to those around us and start looking inward, to be happy with what we have. Not with what we see. We all face our struggles DAILY. Whether you are going to be late on a car payment, or struggle to find clean drinking water, but it's not how adversity will impact you. It's about how you will react to that adversity. Jordan Peterson says that life is suffering. Bad things are going to come, you can only control your reaction to how the bad things affect you. Love each day and enjoy the people/places/things you get to interact with each day.Lastly, grow. In both situations there is opportunity for growth. For Steve maybe that means risking his job and traveling with his family for awhile. For Isaiah maybe that means searching for a more stable job with better living conditions. Whatever it may be, constantly focus on growth. Even if it is in the wrong direction, you must grow. Do not be complacent and take your life for what it is. Make it into what it could be. Jordan Peterson also says you are who you are PLUS the potential of who you could become. Find what that potential is and dive headfirst in. Stop living a life of comparison. Looking at videos, photos, blogs, that begin to show you what you think you're "missing" out on and go after it if it something that you want. Comparison is not your answer. Growth. Risk. Chance. The unknown. It is what we NEED. We NEED more in our lives and comparison is not the answer to happiness/fulfillment/joy.Comparison... is the thief of joy. And Happiness... is reality, minus expectation. Live your life the way you WANT to live, not in comparison to others.