Stop Wishing You Were Someone Else

“Wishing you were someone else is a waste of the person you are.”

I’m certain this is something that has affected all of us at some point or other – wishing you were like someone else, or even wishing you were them. Be it someone’s brains, beauty or talents, it’s healthy to admire others, but it can be damaging for our self-esteem if we get too caught up, to the point of wanting to be them.

We need to put away the rose tinted glasses. When we admire or look up to someone, we put them on a pedestal. We only see their positives and it’s easy to project an untrue version of them. Nobody is perfect after all.

For Brains

If you admire someone for their intelligence, don’t undermine your own in the process! Intelligence is a subjective term and it means something different to different people. Everyone has their own strengths, their own intelligence. Embrace yours and be the best version of you!

For Beauty

You will have heard the term “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” and it’s true. But when we admire another person’s beauty, we can become insecure in our own skin. It can wear you down and make you feel less-than. But everyone has parts of themselves that they dislike, including those you admire, and then other people who will like these things that we dislike. It’s entirely subjective. And nobody believes themselves to be physically perfect (and if they do, that’s another problem!).

For Talent

“I wish I could do (such and such) like her.” Talents are honed over time, perhaps years – we have to remember this! And if others can do something, why can’t you? It can just be a case of practice. Nobody can be amazing at something immediately, without putting time and effort into practicing the skill.

For Life

Social media can often paint a picture of a perfect life. “Why can’t my life be like that?” but we can only see what people choose to share. We only see the surface of a person and we must remember that social media mostly serves as a highlight reel.