It Could Always Be Worse, It Could Always Be Better
What do you think when someone says, “it could always be worse?”
When you face hard stuff in life, you may find yourself comparing it to others.
“They have no idea what it’s like to be in crisis.”
“They have no idea what it’s like to feel this way.”
“If they only knew how I felt.”
I really believe this comes from wanting to be heard and understood. We want people to really really get how we feel and to know our pain. We lived through it and we want that recognition. We want to be validated.
I get it.
We don’t get to decide for others what constitutes a hard life and what doesn’t.
Pain, illness, struggle, and tragedy are not a competition. It’s all relative.
Your struggle is your own. It will never be exactly like someone else’s. It will be both better and worse in so many different ways.
It’s a dangerous game when we start comparing. You may feel like your pain isn’t valid because it’s not “as bad.” Or maybe you use the struggles of others to boost yourself up, “well at least I’m not dealing with that.”