I know nothing. I don’t know what I want to do. How’s my life gonna turn out? There are so many expectations. You finish high school and you’re supposed to know what you want to do for the rest of your life. You’re supposed to have it all figured out. You go to college and you keep asking yourself what am I supposed to do? Is this a good choice? When you look at people around you, they seem to have it all figured out. But not you, you’re lost, you don’t have a clue. You don’t have it all figured out. You start thinking something’s wrong with you.

You see everybody’s PRed version of themselves, the face they want you to see. The happy stuff, the fun stuff. You see it everywhere and start thinking it’s supposed to be all rosy all the time. But that is not the case for you. You live with yourself 24/7/365. You see your struggles that no one else sees, you feel how overwhelming it can be. You know it’s not rosy all the time. You’re comparing yourself to everybody else’s highlights, and then you expect to feel good? How can you even think to compete? You can’t. Stop comparing.

Your perception of the world around you is that everything is supposed to be fine. Society sets expectations, you’re supposed to follow. But you disagree. Some rules are plain stupid. You’re constantly told what to do, how to behave, what to think, and how to look. But what if that’s not you? What if you disagree?

What if you want to try something, unusual? Something a bit risky? Uncertain? Do you do it? Or do you stay where you are knowing it’s safe, contenting yourself with mediocre or average the rest of your life?

Cut the expectations and make your own, test them and adjust. Don’t gobble up expectations made up by other people, often people who lived centuries ago.

No one knows everything. Everybody is trying to figure it out as best they can. The world around you was made by people no smarter that you. You can affect it. You can change it.

Stop feeling bad because you compare yourself to others. Don’t. Most people probably experience a version of what you are experiencing. Be careful what you focus on.