Comparison. A practice deemed by President Roosevelt to be the "thief of joy." An essential part of life, yet it is often taken to the extremes. How can one action have so much power over a person's life? 

We are all guilty of it. We compare our looks, belongings, accomplishments, and actions to others. We alter our appearance or our behaviors to match someone else's. We are constantly searching for more. Insatiable. Part of it is human nature. But imagine a world where we are simply happy with what we have. 

By juxtaposing our lives against those around us, we fail to recognize our own successes. We fail to achieve total happiness. Because we only see the final outcome of others' doings, wrapped in a neat little package and sealed with a bow, we fail to acknowledge the stresses and challenges that they too faced. 

We align all of the difficulties that we endured to get to our own final product with only the vague positivity and "greatness" that we see from others. When we do this, not only do we discount all of the awesome, unique, and triumphant things that we did, but we also completely waste our own time and happiness. In a time where social media dominates most people's everyday life, we are constantly reminded of those neat little packages that others produce. Because their hardships are behind the scenes, we scroll through new promotions, engagements, job positions, W.O.D.'s, and Pinterest-perfect creations while failing to see the challenges that came before a hashtag or a filter. 

Comparing our body images, career paths, incomes, and overall life choices to our peers brings no good to our lives. It is one thing to hold ourself to standards. Comparing our current self with the person we used to be helps us to grow, develop, and learn from our mistakes. However, these standards should be our own personal goals and values, not those of people around us.

Individuality plays a large role in our happiness. Being different does not signify being better or worse. Taking away from our own self-worth, personal touch, and success is not only time-wasting, but also completely useless. We cause regret and stress in our lives, when there is joy to be found in even the smallest of accomplishments. Though it is easy for even the strongest of people to get caught up comparing themselves with others, satisfaction comes when we appreciate our own personal achievements and the struggles that made us better in the long run. 

Comparison. It is a vicious cycle. If we fail to break this sequence, our lives will never amount to anything more than what others are perceived to be. We will never find true happiness because we will always be chasing someone else's. We will never find true joy, but not because someone took it from us, but because we stole it from ourselves.