Feel like you’re trying to keep pace with your more adventurous friends? Envious of the colleagues who can afford to retire early while you’re still slogging away? Comparing yourself to others is something that we all do – it’s human instinct. ‘Comparison has been hardwired into our DNA for thousands of years,’ explains therapist Marisa Peer*. ‘Previously, in order to stay alive, we learnt how to do things by watching others. It really was the survival of the fittest.’
However, fast forward to the current day and pitting ourselves against our peers has become a measuring stick for material worth, personal success and life satisfaction, often breeding low self-esteem, jealousy and depression as a result. One study** found that we tend to overestimate the happiness and success of
