HEALTH AND WELLBEING

On Comparison. 

Comparison is well known as the “thief of joy”. As with anything innately human- social comparison theorists have asserted comparison is an innate human trait, exaggerated through learnt behaviours and cultural influences.- to delineate it into any positive or negative category negates its complexity and nuance.

Comparison can benefit survival, a means through which we find our place amongst hierarchies supporting belonging . It can serve as a source of inspiration, motivation or a source of personal growth. It can also act as a salve for uncertainty.


Contrastingly, excessive comparison can impact upon our wellbeing, creating a sense of inadequacy and anxiety, diminishing our sense of self worth. Pioneering psychologist Marshall Rosenberg states comparison, is a form of life alienating communication and Maria Popova spoke of how comparison (there are varying dimensions of comparison- one where we compare ourselves to our peers and one where we compare to ourselves)

“in its extreme it breeds resignation. If we constantly feel that there is something more to be had — something that’s available to those with a certain advantage in life, but which remains out of reach for us.. we come to feel helpless”.

And whilst comparison be a constructive influence, it maybe argued that it, in many ways is futile. Each person, each situation and each aspect of our lives, is so unique in its unfolding, that it may in no way mirror anothers experience or even that of our own.

When we come understand our lives in this contextual sense, how we have developed, how we have been influenced- we maybe offered an empowering change in perspective, that we are not defined by what others or how society wishes to define us.

When we understand our lives contextually, beyond comparison, we may see that we are resilient and thriving within the landscape of our own lives.

26. Feb.2026.

By H. Coutts.

References and Further Reading.

Kedia G, Mussweiler T, Linden DE. Brain mechanisms of social comparison and their influence on the reward system. Neuroreport. 2014 Nov 12;25(16):1255-65. doi: 10.1097/WNR.0000000000000255. Cited online 22 Feb 2026. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4222713/