The Comparison Game
A young cancer survivor describes the difficulty of seeing others in his age group living out their dreams.
Fighting cancer in your 30s is tricky.
It’s an age where many people hit their stride in life, and while I’m beyond grateful to be feeling as well as I am health-wise, it’s still difficult to avoid getting caught up in the comparison game.
On one end, I’m putting my head down each day, healing, coping and doing the best I can to rebuild — which is all very nice — until you hear about what everyone else is up to: big things in the real world. Making things happen. Living out their dreams — dreams not all that different from my own, pre-diagnosis.
Watching from the sidelines while the world cruises ahead can really sting… but that’s no way to live. Learning to celebrate other’s good news without getting caught up in my own head games is an area I’m working on lately; the next phase along my evolution as a cancer thriver, you might say.
I’m proud to have exceptional people in my life. And it means a lot knowing we’re close enough that they keep me involved. I wouldn’t change that for anything. Not to mention all the love and support I’ve received these past few years.
Instead, I’m working on approaching each day from a place of love rather than fear, as well as trying to maintain more of an “abundance” mindset; neither of which are necessarily easy after trauma, but these qualities are much more in line with the standard of character I hold myself accountable to and I’m ready to step up my game.
Those around me deserve the best version of myself, and just as importantly, so do I.
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