Welcome to this issue of the WISER Newsletter!

This is the newsletter where you’ll receive Wise Insights Shared by Email Regularly.

I’m glad that we can get WISER together!

😵 The Silent Killer 🥷

I remember hearing the crushing words like it was yesterday.

Despite the envelope feeling weightless and insignificant, I had built up its contents to be far from it.

I was simultaneously terrified and excited to open it.

I tore open my GCSE exam results and it was as I had hoped: I had comfortably scored better than my 2 older brothers.

I couldn’t contain my excitement. I pulled out my phone and texted my parents my results.

I didn’t have to wait long for my dad to reply:

“Not bad.”

Not bad?! What does he mean not bad?! Doesn’t he realise that I have completely eclipsed my brothers in academic success?

Safe to say that I was absolutely devastated. I remember walking home from school where I had collected my results completely deflated.

But there’s more to the story:

• I haven’t told you about how incredibly supportive my parents were and still are

• I’m yet to communicate my father’s wonderful sense of humour and that this remark was meant in jest

• And I have left out the part where I explain how unimportant GCSEs really are

I’m not telling you this story because it still haunts me. I’m telling you it because there’s a valuable lesson in it.

👀 Comparison is the Killer of Joy. 😢

Something else that I failed to mention is that I was dependent on validation; that my identity was found in academic success back then.

I compared myself to the performance of others in school. In fact, I had a great problem with comparison in many areas of my life.

I believe this is a primary reason I was diagnosed with depression in 2013. I felt worthless; like I didn’t measure up to anyone else that I compared myself to.

Comparison was killing me.

10 years later, I’m happier than I have ever been. Comparison is still a habit of mine, but here is how I’ve managed to make it work for me:

🙋‍♂️ I only compare myself to my past self. 🕰

That’s right. It’s really that simple to have a healthier relationship with comparison.

And I don’t think there’s been a better time to share this message.

Why?

Because it’s the start of the New Year where many of us will have set ambitious goals for ourselves:

• To lose weight

• To get a promotion

• To pay off debt

It’s easy to compare oneself to the next person and where they’re at in life, but instead we ought to ask ourselves whether we’ve progressed from who we were. It’s a matter of asking myself:

“Am I better than I was yesterday?”

And this has to be a daily habit.

Don’t get me wrong - I know that this is not easy with the likes of social media giving us constant feedback about what other people like.

🤐 Want to know a secret?

🙈 I hide other people’s like counts on Instagram!

I don’t need to know what other people’s accounts are getting in likes.

For me, it is more beneficial for me to protect myself from comparison with others than it is to know what their audiences are enjoying.

I think it’s wise to not compare yourself to others, and that’s one way that I help myself not to do so.

❓ What are your thoughts about this?

• Do you struggle with comparison?

• Do you have any tips to help people tackle comparison?

• Do you think comparison can be healthy? If so, when?

✍️ Consider journalling through the above questions yourself.

💬 Also, if you want to chat about this, email or DM me! I’d love to hear from you!

✍️ What I’m Working On

This week I launched the WISER Newsletter Instagram account! It’s my opportunity to produce more quality content to help you get wiser. You can follow that account here:

Now that I’m back from my travels, I’m working on finishing the Journalling e-book that I promised you all! Today I’ll share with you what I’m planning on calling it.

🥁 Drumroll please…

The Wise Guide to Journalling

What do you think? Do you like the name? If all goes well, I’ll end up making future e-books so I could make a whole collection of Wise Guides. To let me know your thoughts on the name, please reply to this email (and don’t forget to introduce yourself - I’d love to get to know you!).

Lastly, I’ve been really humbled by all of your support on my YouTube channel! Even though I haven’t started posting there yet, many of you have already subscribed - THANK YOU! If you want to be one of the, subscribe here.

😊 Thank You!

Thanks for checking out the second issue of the WISER Newsletter. If you have any feedback, I’d love to hear it!

Simply reply to this email, and I’ll get back to you.

Alternatively, just DM me on social media. You can find me here:

• 📷 Instagram

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• 🔴 Youtube

Catch you in the next issue!

Thanks,

Michael