Megan Elizabeth

In this episode we discuss unhealthy comparisons. Especially when it comes to social media.

Here I share practical tips on how to stop unhealthy comparison. 

This is ripped audio from my YouTube episode. For the video version check out https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaW_b58f6J-aDxi6CLBUPrQ 

Unhealthy comparison.

• Quite often when I worked alongside teenage girls, one of the biggest issues I’ve seen was unhealthy comparison which then can be progressed into low self esteem issues.
• The average for  young women  on social media is 18 hours a week
• That’s potentially 604800 seconds a week of unhealthy comparisons.

What happens when we compare ourselves to others?

1. Quite often when we compare ourselves to others, we compare what we believe to be our worst attributes and compare them to what we believe to be their best attributes. Especially when we are dealing with social media where people upload only the best parts and not their struggles.

STAT: 70% of women / teens edit and Photoshop their photos before uploading to social media.

1. We can not fairly measure or compare ourselves to others purely for the simple fact is that we are all amazingly unique, we are all different. How awesome is that. I mean imagine a world where we were all the same? We’d be so boring. * Even twins don’t have the same fingerprints. Even More so it is a surefire way to say that all our personalities, experiences and everything that shapes us into who we are, are indeed all different. I LOVE THAT!
2. Comparisons rob us of precious time, time that we could be focusing on our self growth or on those around us that we love. It robs us of the joy and happiness that we could be filling our lives with instead.

Comparison is the thief of joy.” —Theodore Roosevelt

1. When we focus on what others have,  we tend to lose focus on what we have and have to offer, our talents, gifts, aspirations and wonderful character traits.
2. Comparisons can lead to resentment not only to others but of ourselves. Which is the exact opposite of practicing SELF LOVE and self care.
3. Comparisons can start small and then become habitual in every aspect of our lives. Looks, Job, money, Love and so much more. If we do not learn to stop comparing ourselves NOW it will only be much harder to stop later in life.

Did you know that almost 50% of young girls / women have low self esteem?

Low self-esteem is a thinking disorder in which an individual views him/herself as inadequate, unlovable, and/or incompetent. Once formed, this negative view permeates every thought, producing faulty assumptions and ongoing self-defeating behavior.

75% of girls with low self-esteem reported engaging in negative activities like cutting, bullying, smoking, drinking, or disordered eating.

Working with young girls aged between 13-17 I noticed a massive culture surrounding negative self talk. 

Here, I share my own story about my experience with negative self talk and how i stopped it and vowed to myself to say nothing at all about myself unless it was positive or helpful. This is an extract from my YouTube video. You can check it out here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAM_yPmFmp8 

I would love to hear about your experience, please leave me a comment. I find sharing our experiences with others sheds light on the issue that many of us women face. It enables us to learn from each other and inspire each other. 

Oh for crying out loud... Just listen