Yesterday, I came across this quote on Instagram. And it instantly reminded me of a couple of things or traps that we as people do tend to fall into that have nothing to do with the reality of the situations that may surround us.
The first one that comes to mind is, we see others - "their highlight reel" if you will and instantly assume or worse desire to assume that the "reel" they see is in fact the reality of the situation.
More frequently than not, it isn't.
The thing you perceive; the "reel" they allow you to witness, is in many circumstances a masterpiece that's been created or manufactured to cause you to "think" what you see is real.
When in actuality, it can and often is far from the truth. People(and unfortunately, I know a few of them), have carefully crafted a "highlight reel" or a mask, that shall we say in blunt terms - hides the not-so-great stuff in their lives.
They desire you to think that "they have it all together" when the stark truth is - none of us have it together. We can and often get caught in this vicious circle of comparing ourselves to others, and then sliding down into some deep and dark gopher hole of insecurity, because somehow no matter what we produce or how hard we try, we just can't measure up to "their highlight reel."
The insidious bit of all this is that "their highlight reel" is just about as fake as a "three-dollar bill."
When we think about comparing ourselves to others, we frequently forget or knock off the table altogether any concept of authenticity or being authentic. In other words, simply being who we were meant to be.
Instead of being who we are meant to be, we place all of our energy and effort into being or emulating someone else's "highlight reel." In a cruel way, we desire to be a copy of something that is in essence - fake or not based in reality. Looking around, there would appear to be more than enough folks out there desperately working at being a copy of something or certainly not being who they were placed on the earth to be.
And when we can't get there; can't achieve the level of someone else's "highlight reel", the insecurity kicks in big time.
But, here's a novel concept.
What if we simply worked on being ourselves; being authentic?
Are there things that we might be capable to achieve to improve ourselves(whatever that means)? Naturally, there are invariably things we can be working on in terms of who we are.
The point is, often what we believe we see, isn't genuinely what is happening, or certainly, it merely contains or clings to a portion of what is reality.
Remember, a "highlight reel" is purely that - the "highlights." A carefully constructed portion of just the "pleasant bits." The stuff they want you to see in order to convey or illustrate how good or great they might be. How perfect they are. How important they are.
During the recruitment time of high school athletes, colleges and universities require and ask for many things during the recruitment process. Amongst many things requested asked is often a "highlight reel." A video clip that highlights their ability to play and compete at an exceptionally high level. They don't send in everything; the missed plays; the mistakes; the bad judgment calls - nope. They send in only the good and great "highlights."
Be authentic; be who you are meant to be.
There are far too many people who only screen the "highlight reels" of their lives.
Remember though - everyone has "highlight reels."
Also remember, those folks whose "highlight reels" make you feel insecure, also have "lowlight reels" that they are desperately trying to keep away from the light of day.
--as always with love--
--- get outdoors; find inspiration; discover yourself ---
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