No point in comparing yourself to others

Uniquely you!

I am me. You are you.

It's such a simple thing, yet it took me decades to truly understand this from the bottom of my heart.

In my twenties, I was at my most miserable, most lonely, and most unhappy. And yet, to the outside world, I lived putting on the performance of a "happy wife."

Everyone around me seemed to shine brighter than I did, and appeared to have no worries at all. They only looked happy to me.

Especially in my late twenties. Every time friends my age or colleagues went on maternity leave or quit their jobs, it felt like a dream that would never come true for me.

What accumulated deep in my chest was "envy" and "jealousy." I hate to admit it, but these were undeniably the emotions that were there.

Many people around me had husbands who were expatriates, and there was a time when I arbitrarily convinced myself that "those people are guaranteed stability and wealth."

But when you open the lid on life, everyone is living desperately, each carrying their own worries and anxieties. I finally realized this obvious truth.

The standards for happiness differ from person to person. My happiness exists only within myself.

Now in my sixties, I've finally come to be able to "feel" this in my body.

Rather than tower mansions or luxury homes, I love mountain cottages and log cabins surrounded by nature, and the small house I live in now in a small seaside town.

Rather than luxury furniture or designer clothes, I love furniture I can lounge on with my dog and soft clothing with a nice feel against my skin.

Rather than sparkling brand-name watches, I love a watch that tells me my heart rate and step count.

That's why I think: There's absolutely no point in comparing yourself to others.

In the end, I am me. You are you.

This very fact is what sets me most free now.