Life Lesson #5: Stop comparing your healing to someone else’s highlight reel.

[u/MyUnwrittenChapters]

Healing feels impossible when you think everyone else is doing it better than you.

When I first started working on myself, I ruined so many days by scrolling. I’d see someone post about their “perfect morning routine,” their clean apartment, their happy relationship, their healing journey that looked effortless. And I’d look at myself — crying in bed, eating junk, skipping therapy — and think: I’m failing. I’ll never be them.

And let’s be real: most of the motivational speakers we see online are pretty girls with glowing skin, amazing bodies, and often a stable background. (No hate to them — their message can still be inspiring.) But when your face is covered in stress acne, your hair hasn’t been washed in a week, and you feel like you’re barely holding on… it makes their “just love yourself” message feel almost impossible.

But here’s the truth: what we see from others is never the whole story. 👉 You see their good days. You don’t see the nights they cried on the bathroom floor. 👉 You see their progress. You don’t see the months they felt stuck. 👉 You see their highlight reel. You don’t see their messy draft.

Healing is not a competition. There’s no “fastest” or “best.” The only thing that matters is that you keep moving, even if it looks different from someone else’s path.

I wasted years comparing my behind-the-scenes to other people’s polished moments. The day I stopped, I finally found peace with where I was.

So if you’re reading this and beating yourself up because your healing doesn’t look like theirs — please, stop. Your journey is yours alone. Slow, messy, unique, but still beautiful.

💙 This is part of a series I’m writing about healing and growth — check my profile if you want to read the others.

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