My day started out great. I worked all day at a job I love, spent time with my family, and saw a movie with my best friend. I even had time to squeeze in a nap! It was a normal but wonderful day.
I got on Instagram while I was waiting for my dinner to heat up in the microwave. I had to scroll through my feed to see what everyone was up to over the weekend.
“Dream vacation!”
Spain sounds interesting. I’ll like that.
“So excited to finally have moved into our new home!”
I didn’t know you moved into a new apartment, or were even looking for one… I should probably comment on that.
“I have the best boyfriend ever <3”
Oh… Last I checked you were single and didn’t want to date. I’ll like that too, I guess.
Soon, it seemed like everyone was doing all of these amazing things that I wanted so desperately to accomplish. What was I doing? Working the same job, living in the same house, and spending my free time watching movies about adventures instead of having some of my own. It was very easy to see who was living the more exotic life, and it certainly wasn’t me.
I was feeling exceedingly down. I did not know what I was doing, what goal I was moving towards, or even what my next step in my life would be. On my bookshelf, there is a book of quotes that I’ve collected over the years. These quotes help brighten up a crappy day, or give me something to ponder. I began frantically flipping through the book in hopes I would find an answer or a sign of some sort. One quote in particular that caught my eye was, “Good for her; not for me,” a phrase coined by the brilliant Amy Poehler in her memoir Yes! Please.
It took a long time to convince me of this, but I am so glad that I have embraced the truthfulness of this mantra. Just because someone experiences an opportunity that you don’t doesn’t mean you ever will have that experience. It means that either it was not right for you, or it was not right for you at this time. I’m glad that girl got a boyfriend, but it doesn’t mean that I should be jealous that I don’t have one. It just means that it wasn’t ready to happen for me just yet, but it was ready to happen for her.
We should be able to celebrate the accomplishments of others without feeling embarrassed or let down.
It’s easy to feel like you are missing out in life when others' accomplishments are plentiful. Hell, I still have many days where I feel left out or that I’m not living up to what I should be doing. However, what I am doing is working an amazing full time job, spending time with my family and friends, and having free time to do fun things. I’m proud of myself and all of that is good for me.
