Monday Memo| Detail No.170| September 8, 2025

There are weights we choose, and there are weights that slip quietly onto our shoulders without us even realizing. Few feel as heavy, or as draining, as the weight of comparison.

It starts subtly. We notice someone else’s success, their happiness, their opportunities, and almost without thought, we begin to measure ourselves against them. Their highlight reel becomes the standard by which we judge our everyday reality. A friend’s career milestone makes us question if we’re falling behind. Someone else’s family photos make us wonder if our own moments are enough. A stranger’s polished life online leaves us restless in our own skin.

Comparison whispers the lie that what we have is less. It convinces us that joy is limited, that if someone else shines, we must somehow dim. And before long, this invisible weight begins to shape how we walk through the world. We carry not only our responsibilities and struggles but also the silent burden of not feeling good enough. The truth, though, is that comparison steals far more than it gives. It steals contentment, peace, and gratitude. It presses down on us until even our achievements feel small. And perhaps the cruellest part, it distracts us from the beauty of our own story.

Think of how different life might feel if we loosened that grip. If instead of constantly weighing ourselves against others, we measured our days by presence, by effort, by alignment with what we truly value. Imagine how light it would feel to wake up and not wonder how we stack up, but instead ask: Am I moving toward what matters to me?

Carrying the weight of comparison is like trying to run with a heavy pack filled with stones that don’t belong to you. Each glance at someone else’s journey adds another rock. Before long, it’s not your race you’re running, it’s a burden shaped by someone else’s path. No wonder it feels exhausting.

But there is another way. Comparison can be exchanged for inspiration. Instead of letting someone else’s success make you feel smaller, let it remind you of what’s possible. Instead of letting their light cast a shadow on your own, let it spark courage to nurture your own flame. Inspiration lifts, while comparison presses down. One is weight, the other is wind. This week, take a moment to notice when comparison shows up. Catch the thoughts that whisper, I’m not enough. Ask yourself, Whose standard am I carrying right now? Does this weight belong to me or am I allowed to set it down?

When you release comparison, gratitude rushes in. You begin to see your own progress more clearly. You notice the small victories that once went unseen. You celebrate others without it diminishing your own joy. Life doesn’t feel like a competition, it feels like a shared journey where each path is valid, each story unique. Not every weight belongs to you, and the weight of comparison is one you never had to carry in the first place. Put it down. Walk lighter. Trust that your story, with all its twists and turns, has its own beauty, its own timing, its own worth.