Member-only story

How to Avoid the Holiday Comparison Trap

When you (badly) want what they’re having

Karen Nimmo
On The Couch
Published in
4 min readDec 19, 2024

--

Image by Freepik AI

Do you want the holiday the Joneses are having?

Skiing up a storm on the French Alps? Wandering through a lit up Central Park, New York (after a spot of 5th Avenue shopping)? Or just lying on a sunny beach, ice cream in hand, with the kids happily building sand castles (or just Not Fighting)?

Over the next month those Joneses will be all over social media, with their beaming white smiles and cooler-than-cool holiday experiences.

On a generous day, you feel happy for them, living vicariously through their carefully edited, filtered posts.

But when the rain’s tipping down, you’re fighting with your partner over the cost (and exhaustion) of a week’s camping and the kids are whining for screen time, it’s hard to stave off your envy.

Why can’t we have what they’re having?

“You can’t compare an apple to an orange. It will cause a lot of self-esteem issues.” — Craig Sheffer

Who are the Joneses, anyway?

We all know the saying “keeping up with the Joneses” — but where does it come from?

--

--

On The Couch
On The Couch

Published in On The Couch

Practical psychology for health and happiness. Owned/Edited by clinical psychologist and writer Karen Nimmo.

Karen Nimmo
Karen Nimmo

Written by Karen Nimmo

Clinical psychologist, author of 4 books. Editor of On the Couch: Practical psychology for health and happiness. karen@onthecouch.co.nz

Responses (5)