Don't compare yourself to others -

It is important that we don't compare ourselves to other people.  For like lots of reasons. Tired Girls especially should not fall in to this, because it just makes us feel bad when we are NOT Senators at the age of 30, or don't have six children and also run a Fortune 500 children's clothing company from the corner of our kitchen, or don't even exercise every day.  Comparing myself to other people, mostly women, rarely goes well for me.

I know this, and so I enjoy a fashion magazine with a critical eye, knowing they have airbrushed each body . Every face and head of hair have been professionally done as well.  If Bobbi Brown did my makeup every day I would look better too.

So, I was surprised last week when I let my comparisons (read: jealousy) get away from me.  I was looking througha Southern Living and came across a beautiful "lake house"  (read: mansion) spread, complete with photos of the place and the charming couple that get to own it.  They even had a cute little BMW convertible parked in front of the lake house.  Ugh.  I don't need a gorgeous lake house, filled with linen slip-covered furniture and expensive rugs, or a BMW, or a trillion dollars, or a dock with adirondack chairs, but MAN did I want those things when I was looking at this article.

This innocent photograph pushed me over the edge.  Source 

I immediately starting looking around my house and my brain trying to figure out what I could do, or sell or make, or whatever so that I could create a huge amount of wealth for my family.  At that point, just being comfortable wasn't enough - I needed BIG money.

Sooo, you see where this is going - exactly nowhere. I basically spent a few days being annoyed that I, at age 35, didn't own a mansion-lakehouse-second home.  And then I realized that even though I am on to the fashion magazines and their airbrushing of women's bodies, I let everything else get in to my head!  I let myself think that most people have beautiful homes, and perfect meals every night, and loads of energy to wash and fold and put away clothes all in one day, and flat stomachs.   I don't know if other people do or not have these things, but the truth is I don't, and I can only do what I can do.

Comparing myself and my lack of a lake house gets me nowhere except to grumpy town.

Marlo Thomas, daughter of comedian and actor Danny Thomas, tells a story about how her dad encouraged her to "run her own race in life."  He gave her a gift of horse blinders and told her, essentially, not to compare herself to other people. I guess it's better for horses not to see the other horses or something or it screws them all up (message!!!)  It makes me infinitely more tired when I see what I have not accomplished yet in life compared to other people.

So this Tired Girl is going to calm down, enjoy looking at the beautiful homes and ideas in my magazines and not over think this crap. I am going to "run my own race in life" and I realistically will probably be running that race by really just walking slowly in my pjs.

I mean whatever.  Source

Anything ever put you over the edge and make you feel less than adequate?  Don't let it!!  But tell me what it is anyway, so I feel better.