Can We Ever Be Satisfied?

March 9, 2009     Posted in Reality

mirror.jpgDue to a mixture of ugly rain and extreme exhaustion from losing an hour of sleep (seriously, that hour kills me every year!), I spent my Sunday in bed feeling sorry for myself with my laptop and a bag of Doritos. Probably not the best idea considering I have a white Macbook, which now has orange fingerprints all over it.


By Lauren

That is when I found this.

The article discusses women of all ages and our constant comparisons to others, but it really struck me as something college girls deal with daily.

When I force myself to think about it, I realize that I am an accomplished girl. I go to a great university where I excel in my classes, I have great friends, a great family and plenty of awesome life experiences. But I don’t often think that way.

Instead, I am always comparing myself to the people around me. The friend who always gets better grades, the girl who always has the boyfriend, and every single girl who is thinner and prettier than I am.

I constantly find myself thinking that I should have a boyfriend by now, that I should have seen Europe by now, or that I should have done a lot more by this stage in my life than I have. No matter how well I do on an exam, I always think that I should have done better. No matter how good I look before I leave the house, the other girls at the bar look better.

We live in a society that is obsessed with both success and looking into the lives of others (hello, reality TV), which is the perfect combination for a mindset like mine. All of this makes me wonder if any of us will ever be satisfied with our personal accomplishments.

What do you think?

29 Comments on "Can We Ever Be Satisfied?"

  1. chyeaa says:
    Mon, 9th Mar 20097:39 am 

    goddamn, i had no idea womenz felt like this at all. I'm pretty sure you are pretty and accomplished, must be the coldness of ann habor talking

  2. Candie says:
    Mon, 9th Mar 20098:01 am 

    It's an American culture thing. You guys place too much emphasis on individual achievement.

  3. Carla says:
    Mon, 9th Mar 20098:40 am 

    thanks for that, helped a bit. ive been down in the dumps lately (probably because aunt flows coming to town soon!). but ive been really down because i feel the need to be a better position than i am now, in fact, i should be alright really.

    people should really think about what they've got now, apart from what they want to have. u know, half full, half empty sort of thing.

  4. belle says:
    Mon, 9th Mar 20099:47 am 

    Candie makes a good point. Where are you from? I'd be curious to know what the perspective is there.

  5. Abby says:
    Mon, 9th Mar 200910:13 am 

    That article definitely struck a chord with me as well. It's so true – earning enough, owning my own place, looking better, being more popular, everything is a stress situation. I even stress over the fact that I should be happier! It's absolutely exhausting to constantly think about all the things you imagine you should be, because no matter what you do it'll never be enough. There are always going to be more hurdles to jump in my own mind.

  6. Casey says:
    Mon, 9th Mar 20096:40 pm 

    the first time I realized I hadn't done much with my life I was in 12th grade and this girl (who was oh so accomplished!) sent me the nastiest letter on myspace saying "who are you again? What have you accomplished thus far?" Everyone loved this girl, she was the popular girl in high school, she was "smart" (she had an immense vocabulary but that's about it) but she was extremely confident. I was too until she sent me that letter. Then I started second guessing everything about myself.

    Now this semester I'm taking my first speech class and it's bringing up those same feelings. In most speech classes you have to talk about yourself, your experiences, and your accomplishments. Well I have since realized I am a boring person, have done nothing with my life, and there is simply nothing interesting about me. I don't even have any real hobbies (not that I have time for any) But it really was a downer.

    So I know exactly where you're coming from. :

  7. jes says:
    Mon, 9th Mar 20097:04 pm 

    Casey, speech classes are the devil! Don't let them get you down, I have some of the highest confidence in the world and that class made me shake all the way down to my toes!!!

    Luckily I had a small summer class and a great teacher, just remember, everyone in there feels exactly the same way about getting up and sharing about themselves!

  8. Casey says:
    Mon, 9th Mar 20097:07 pm 

    Ok so I know most of the CC readers are not religious, but I thought it was too much of a coincidence that right after reading this post I went to check my e-mail and my mom e-mailed me these three scriptures which all pertain to this post.

    "we are fearfully and wonderfully made". Psalm 139

    While we can hone and sharpen our gifts and talents, we cannot change the innate traits that God has created in us. Read Matthew 25:15-29.

    2 Corinthians 10:12b says "but they measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves among themselves , are not wise." The moment we begin to compare ourselves with someone else we are entering that frightening place where Indiana Jones once found himself – snakes everywhere! We must avoid comparing ourselves with others – either we'll be puffed up with pride and explode or we'll be poisoned by the asp of envy.

    Just thought I'd share it. It may help someone out there.

  9. Rachele says:
    Mon, 9th Mar 200910:22 pm 

    Casey is right. You pretty much have a lot of confidence when your a kid and then something demoralizing happens which leads to become extremely cautious about what you say, how you act and what you look like. Therefore, leading one to become a "boring" person (due to the "mistakes" that can happen if one is spontaneous).

    Wow, where is that confidence when you need it?

  10. Sam says:
    Tue, 10th Mar 20099:51 pm 

    Casey, "2 Corinthians 10:12b" – that's not an actual quote from the Bible is it?

  11. Samantha says:
    Tue, 10th Mar 200910:21 pm 

    The thing you have to remember about taking a speech class is that the other students in the class literally won't care what you are speaking about, and most won't even be paying attention. So, just relax and don't put so much pressure on yourself. If the students don't have to make a speech on the same day you do, a lot of people probably won't even show up. People in speech classes are pretty much indifferent about the people speaking and unless you do something totally outrageous, your classmates won't even remember the topic of your speech at the end of class.

  12. Lucy says:
    Wed, 11th Mar 20099:58 pm 

    I think EVERYONE can relate to this! Although, I think it’s human nature to always strive for more. It is a painful quest, particularly for women.

  13. Anonymous says:
    Mon, 5th Oct 20099:04 am 

    Честно говоря, сначала до конца не понял, но со второго раза дошло – спасибо!

  14. Anonymous says:
    Tue, 6th Oct 20093:41 am 

    Кому это важно?

  15. Anonymous says:
    Tue, 6th Oct 20096:03 am 

    спасибо

  16. Anonymous says:
    Tue, 6th Oct 20095:29 pm 

    Я в принципе, мало, что смыслю в этм посте, но постараюсь все таки понять.

  17. Anonymous says:
    Wed, 7th Oct 20094:15 am 

    Отличный пост, прочитав несколько статей на эту тему понял, что всё таки не посмотрел с другой стороны, а пост как-то очень заинтересовал.

  18. Anonymous says:
    Wed, 7th Oct 20092:20 pm 

    Жду не дождусь след. поста

  19. Anonymous says:
    Wed, 7th Oct 20093:58 pm 

    Спасибо за интервью! Очень познавательно.

  20. Anonymous says:
    Wed, 7th Oct 200911:50 pm 

    Спасибо, много полезного почерпнул.

  21. Anonymous says:
    Fri, 9th Oct 20091:10 pm 

    Спасибо, интересно было прочитать.

  22. Anonymous says:
    Wed, 21st Oct 20099:55 pm 

    Занятно пишете, жизненно. Все-таки, для того, чтобы делать по-настоящему интересный блог, нужно не только сообщать о чем-то, но и делать это в интересной форме:)

  23. Anonymous says:
    Thu, 22nd Oct 200912:43 am 

    Чтобы писать такие информативные посты надо хорошо отдыхать. Автор – где вы отдыхаете и как? Поведайте секрет.

  24. xamich133 says:
    Sun, 13th Dec 20095:08 am 

  25. Usevoiffizode says:
    Tue, 29th Dec 200912:32 pm 

    Интересно написано….но многое остается непонятнымb

  26. KesttiepLer says:
    Mon, 15th Feb 20107:56 am 

    Прикольная статья, но не все понял 3м

  27. peereitnegica says:
    Mon, 15th Feb 20108:59 pm 

    Интересно было почитать темку 4м

  28. StaicSatt says:
    Tue, 16th Feb 20108:08 pm 

    Получил эстетическое удовольствие от прочтения 6м

  29. moxyroady says:
    Tue, 16th Feb 201010:09 pm 

    Понравилась статья, только некоторые моменты хотелось бы уточнить 4п

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