Stop Comparing Yourselves to Others

Issue # 0067

The pursuit of happiness leads us down a dangerous path because happiness is tied to our circumstances and our perceptions of our circumstances are most often tied to our comparisons to our perceptions of the circumstances of other people.

275 years ago, Rue Montesquie wrote,

“If we only wished to be happy, this could easily be accomplished; but we wish to be happier than other people, and this is always difficult, for we believe others to be happier than they are.”

Investor Charlie Munger once noted,