Featured Image Credit: Dmitry Ratushny on Unsplash
I’ve seen people walking down the street with their faces buried in their phones. In line at the grocery store, waiting rooms and, of course, bathrooms are not immune.
People you know and many you don’t share their lives with you. Facebook and Instagram are two of the ten most popular sites. Pictures, word captions, and text posts pepper your feeds.
The rush of colors passing and blending into one another. Pictures of people at their best. Gym workouts and bikini pictures whizzing past. Some pictures of food, #liveyourbestlife, and vacation destinations.
Beautiful landscapes mixed with pictures of a new home or new car. The absolute best of the life of these people right now. For many in the younger generation, this cannot be very clear.
Everyone is posting about their happy lives. Their new jobs, new toys, and you have your life. A life with debt. A life with struggle. A life where you have fallen short or are struggling to achieve a dream.
It seems uniquely you.
Something is unsettling about searching Google to solve a problem and finding no results if it feels like you are the only person who couldn’t figure it out.
These sites make struggling feel like a lonely activity too. All of these people are out here succeeding, and you are not.
It is because we don’t broadcast our struggles. Even in the era before social media, people projected an image. Nobody appeared to have any debt, relationship troubles, or issues with their mental health.
Yet study after study told us this wasn’t true; we didn’t know who was like us.
It is okay to struggle. If you do struggle, here are some tips to help.
Find An Ear
Not discover a severed ear or anything. Find a person you can trust to share your issues. I would recommend a psychological professional. Find one that suits your needs the best. Not all professionals are equal.
If this is cost, time, or location prohibitive, seek a trusted friend. It could be someone you know who has had the same or similar issue.
You don’t need to share deeply intimate stories. Share what is relevant and get an outside perspective. It could just be to vent. Sometimes people want to vent about their trials.
We can take the first steps to improve by recognizing we have a struggle.
Don’t Compare
Someone had a more difficult life than you? They made it through, so you should stop complaining.
A more difficult life for someone else has no bearing on your life. We all are different. Surviving a more significant problem doesn’t mean your problem doesn’t matter.
People throwing these examples often mean well, but they are different.
Coercing a child to eat by saying others are starving means nothing to the child. They might take heed if the child had also been starving at one point.
Since they live in a home where food is available, they won’t resonate with the message.
Don’t compare your situation to someone else. It is excellent that they survived a fall, persevered during disasters, and are stronger on the other side.
You have a right to feel how you do about your problems. And remember, you are on your path.
All Circumstances Are Temporary
Just as the ocean erodes the footprints and sandcastles on the shore, time also passes. Eventually, the sands of time give way to the waves of eternity. All circumstances come to an end.
Things won’t be perfect in life forever. Dark clouds will always pass. I’m not saying things won’t be difficult. I say these events only last for a time, and something new takes place.
When you are in difficult moments, focus on the good times ahead. When enjoying the good times, always respect that they can end anytime.
It won’t make the struggles easier, but it may give you more hope for the future.
What’s Next?
Beyond the happy Facebook and Instagram posts are deeper issues often unseen beneath the surface. When you are facing struggles, you are not alone.
It is often essential to vent our feelings. When in dark times, seek an ear. It could be a mentor, safe group, friend, or professional. It can be incredibly freeing.
Don’t compare. Everyone’s experiences are their own. Other people's experiences can provide valuable knowledge. Whatever you are going through is for you to deal with in the way you feel best fits.
All circumstances are temporary. Nothing lasts forever, and every dark cloud will soon pass.
We all struggle. Even people who project the perfect life have their issues too. You are not alone. Work through the difficulties. Good things lie ahead.