In a time where social media is so popular, it is easy to go on another person’s page and feel a little jealousy toward the things we see.

“Wow, she is extremely pretty, her body is perfect”

“Damn, she’s got money, she’s always on expensive trips”

“They really look so in love, they’re always happy in their pictures”

“He has so many followers, he must be important”

We forget that social media is designed for visual storytelling, a form of branding. Essentially, the people that you follow or see on social media are branding a product – themselves. Very little people post their struggles, just as often as they post photos/videos of them in the club, spending stacks of money, and having a good time. Perception is everything.You never know what’s going on in the lives of the people behind the profile.

So now you’ve looked at all this person’s pictures and videos, assumed what you think you know about them, and used your assumptions to compare your life to theirs. We say we don’t do it, because we don’t anyone to know that we have these thoughts, but it happens. You begin to wonder if there was anything you could have done differently in order to have the life or things this person has.

Suddenly, you begin picking apart the things you see and decide you’re going to start working on them in order to better yourself. You want to be “goals.” While self-improvement is important, you will never achieve what you desire given that you only started wanting it because you noticed someone else with it.

At some point, we must decide that who we are and what we have is enough for ourselves. Once we become comfortable with ourselves, it is easier to design our goals based on what works for our own lives and not the brands we’ve seen on Instagram.

How you view yourself should never be in comparison to the self that others present. So I challenge you to take step back.. think about who YOU are, what YOU want, and what would make YOU happy.

To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.  – Ralph Waldo Emerson