About chapters

There was this inspirational quote going around for a bit on my FB feed: don't compare your chapter 1 to someone else's chapter 20.

I was brought up ALWAYS comparing one thing to another; if I was sad because of something, I was told someone else had it much worse. If I worried, someone else always had something much worse to worry about.
The thing is - if something gets repeated often enough, you'll find it engrained in your brain.
I became someone who'd compare herself to other people constantly; if my love life sucked I'd look at other women who were successful in that area. If they were prettier, thinner, funnier I'd feel vindicated: they were better than me, ergo they had a boyfriend. (But I was still miserable, because why couldn't I be all that?)

When this Chapter 1 vs. Chapter 20 came about it made perfect sense to me: I was already comparing everything anyway, but now I was able to feel better about myself. Surely all the people I didn't measure up against where the chapter 20s to me 1s?!

Until I realised that some of those people are on the exact same chapter as me. And then I felt like giving up entirely. The whole "I'm-staying-in-bed-for-the-rest-of-my-life-and-eat-cake-and-icecream-for-every-meal" deal.

This is what I learned through some navel gazing and kicks up the behind:
IT DOESN'T EFFIN' MATTER!
Regardless of which chapter you are on, you will either measure up in comparison, or you won't. If you don't, you'll feel crap because other people are 'better'. If you do, you are effectively making yourself feel better by putting someone else down. Seriously, think about it. Someone else's misfortune holds the key to your happiness.
Do you want to be that person that feels good because someone else doesn't measure up to you?
Crap. I don't. I really, really don't.

Don't compare yourself. Period.