You know intellectually that you're comparing your interior to everyone else's exterior. You know the social media version of someone's life is not their actual life. You know that the person whose career you're comparing yours to has their own internal experience that you can't see. The knowledge doesn't help.

Comparison persists because it's automatic, not rational. It happens before you can intercept it. And it has a very specific kind of damage — it makes the things you have feel like less than they are, because the reference point is always someone else's highlight.

Anonymous thoughts about comparison posted here are from people who were honest about the habit they can't stop, even when they know better.