We’re doing a short series on perspectives that go against conventional wisdom. If you’re just now joining us, I encourage you to go back and catch the previous entries in this series.

Social media has made things both harder and easier for us as writers.

On the one hand, it is much easier than it was years ago because we can connect with almost anyone. We can share content and be inspired by what other people are posting.

On the other hand, social media has made it much harder. Why? Because social media by definition only showcases people’s success. We end up comparing our whole lives, including our failures and frustrations, to a partial view of other people’s lives because they only post their wins. (And we all do the same thing, by the way.)

When you see all the wins that people are posting, don’t compare yourself. Sure, you can learn from other people. But your race is not their race. You have your own pace, your own goals, your own priorities, and your own commitments in life.

For example, if you are a young mother with three kids at home and you only have 15 minutes of silence a day before collapsing into bed at night, don’t feel guilty about not getting as much work done as the single guy who probably has far fewer commitments, much more free time, and seems to be accomplishing more.

Here’s another example. Maybe you are that single person who is just getting started and feels guilty because you’re not accomplishing as much as that business writer with several kids who seem to travel all over the world and have it all. They have a New York Times bestseller, an email list of a hundred thousand people, and what looks like a perfect life.

But what you may not know is that her marriage is crumbling and she’s secretly miserable because she has to run herself ragged to keep up with all the demands of her freshly grown business.

In other words, you never know people’s real situations and what their lives are like on the inside. So don’t assume that what you’re seeing on social media is the whole picture.

This is certainly no judgment on anybody’s personal situation because we all have different lives. Our lives are constantly in flux according to our stage of life and where we are in building a business or reaching our goals.

Don’t worry about anybody else. Just focus on running your own race and learn what you can from other successful people. Then, apply those lessons to your situation.

If you keep at it, pretty soon people will be comparing themselves to YOU. And then you can help a mentor and teach them, just like others have done for you.

Question: Do you have a hard time avoiding the comparison game?