Our Lives Really Aren’t That Bad
My favourite quote from Theodore Roosevelt — ‘Comparison is the thief of joy’
We are so blessed in this day and age -
We have so much.
The world is at our fingertips & we’re constantly connected
We have big houses, bigger wardrobes & even bigger TV screens.
But why are we not happier?
It seems like everywhere you look someone has it better…
Looking on Instagram, everyone’s living ‘their best life’
On all the billboards & advertisements, we’re told that we are not enough and we need all the latest products
Watching all the celebrities in their exorbitant car collections, luxurious houses & designer clothes - it’s hard not to be envious.
It’s all a matter of relativity
We only need to look around to realise just how blessed we truly are
Instead of comparing ourselves to those influencers who we aspire to be…
It’s time to have a big serving of gratitude & sprinkle some appreciation on top.
More than 1/3rd of the world live on LESS than $2 a day. Every single day.
165 MILLION children are malnourished around the world.
If these children all held hands they could form a complete circle around the world…
The most shocking stat of all -
Jeffrey Sachs in his book ‘The End of Poverty’ calculated that it would cost us $175 billion a year over 20 years to solve poverty… that is LESS than 1% of the combined income of just the richest countries of all.
Worst of all, America alone spent $465 billion Christmas last year. Enough to cover that amount by nearly 3 times…
We have all the resources to change the world, it’s a choice — NOT an inability.
A quote from one of the greatest footballers of all time, Zinedine Zidane was profound.
He grew up very poor in France and when recounting his childhood stated — ‘I used to cry because I could not afford shoes to play football, one day I then saw a man with no feet and realised how rich I am’
Now I’m not saying we should feel guilty for where we live and the blessed situations we all find ourselves in…
However, a life focused on merely on extrinsic measures of success will continue to leave us empty.
We will always be pursuing that faster car, an even bigger house or a better job title.
If we’re always chasing more, we will never have enough.
It’s time for us all to have a reality check
It’s important to remember how blessed we are and all the blessings that we do have.
There was a time that we used to pray for the things that we now have
Gratitude allows us to stay grounded and be content regardless of the situation.
If our mindset is never contingent on material goods or situations happening, we will be able to roll with whatever challenges life throws at us.
We need to realise that it’s our mindset & not our circumstances that define our happiness
Life is about building your house on a strong foundation of family, friends & a desire to be a good person.
This will always yield more rewards than a life built on the shallow pursuits of having the newest designer clothes, the most lit Instagram & the best weekends.
Everything in life is relative & simply a matter of perspective.
Being positive doesn’t mean you have to be happy all the time.
It means that even on hard days, you know that there are better ones coming.
I’ll close with one of the greatest quotes I’ve heard -
Instead of trying to work out whether the glass is half-empty or half-full, just be grateful to have clean water & drink it.
It’s all a matter of mindset.
Thank you for reading. If you enjoyed it, please follow me on Medium to stay up to date with all my upcoming posts!
I’ll be writing regularly, providing perspectives on a variety of issues & exploring the big questions that we all share.

