I barely use social media these days but whenever I do login Instagram, I do get the feeling of insecurity from not doing enough. There is definitely a lot of fake posts and embellished wins on Instagram, but my lizard brain can’t understand that. I instantly compare myself to whoever that person on Instagram is.
This comparison to other more successful people is robbing me of my joy.
Naval Ravikant once said that when you start comparing yourself to someone, imagine trading places entirely—flaws, struggles, and all. After taking on the full identity of that person, assess if you still want to be that. Working 100 hours a week like Elon under intense pressure? I definitely don’t want that.
I basically need to go against my instincts and just intentionally compare myself to me. That’s the only metric that makes sense. Old Paul vs. New Paul. If I stick with that, I feel at peace. I feel content. I feel at ease.