Image: Instagram/@iamsuperbianca, @joycepring
Bianca Gonzalez and Joyce Pring tackled how people can stop comparing themselves with others by sharing their own experiences after the latter guested on Gonzalez’s “Paano Ba ‘To” vlog, posted on YouTube last Nov. 4.
Pring opened up by saying it is easy to compare oneself with other people in the industry she works in because one is usually surrounded with the best of the best.
“You’re working with people who are sometimes smarter than you, prettier than you, who are better off than you, who travel more than you, so I’m always bombarded with this feeling of parang hindi ako (I’m not) enough,” admitted Pring.
“You have to go to the root of the problem, which is you’re really looking at the highlights of other people’s lives and comparing it not only to your highlights but also to your lowlights. Not just your conversations but social media, more importantly,” she added.
One of the things Pring practices is going on social media hibernation every two or three months, sometimes even every weekend. According to her, detaching herself from seeing the photos and highlights of other people’s lives has helped. Starting her day with a sense of gratitude is also essential and involves praying a lot, listening to good worship music and looking forward to her day.
Gonzalez echoed Pring’s sentiments on the importance of how one starts their day, saying checking one’s phone upon waking up makes one feel distracted.
“You start your day sort of medyo (somewhat) distracted, bad mood at worst comparing yourself to others, feeling bad about yourself,” said Gonzalez. “But I think that simple habit of sige kung hindi mo kaya yung talagang (if you really can’t handle) social media detox, yung just start your day by not checking your phone, do other things first, [mag] kape ka muna (drink coffee), even watch TV first or anything before you go on to check social media.”
Having an “attitude of gratitude,” said Gonzalez, makes a world of difference.
“Another thing I feel has helped me is yung it’s so important nga to know what you’re grateful for, but aside from that look at the things in your life that you never even wished for or asked for pero binigay sa ‘yo (but was given to you). Those are, for me, little miracles…,” added Gonzalez.
In the end, Pring said that one can focus on how they can help or serve others instead of comparing. This, too, does not have to be anything grand and can be as simple as reaching out to friends or loved ones.
“The comparison comes from this self-awareness na eto lang yung meron ako, eto yung ginagawa ko ngayon, eto yung mga gusto kong puntahanan (this is all I have, this is what I’m doing right now, these are the places I want to go to ),” said Pring. “Pero (but) if you actually focus your energy instead and your attention to who can I help? Who can I brighten up today? Who can I check up on? It doesn’t even have to be a big thing….” Cody Cepeda /ra
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