Why You Need to Stop Comparing Your Home to Others
There’s this thing that happens really quietly, right, where a home can be perfectly fine, nothing’s broken, nothing’s falling apart, and yet it starts feeling kind of… disappointing. Yes, the home you fell head over heels for, probably even your dream home, and now it’s just a house, that’s it, it’s just shelter. Like, everyone wants a house that has it all, and then some, but is that ever truly enough? Well, no, there’s always a brighter home, a modern one, one that’s more fun, that’s bigger, with more amenities, basically the list goes on and on.
Basically, the more updated ones just make your home feel boring. Nowadays, everyone is showing off their incredible house on social media, YouTube, magazines, and so on. Sure, it makes sense that some people are envious of so many people showing things off. But at the same time, it’s not good to be envious, let alone compare. As you know, comparison steals joy, and it’s no different for your house either.
Comparison Changes the way a Home Feels Almost Instantly
Most homes are neutral until comparison gets involved. They just exist. They do their job. They hold daily life without asking much in return. But the second comparison kicks in, well, basically, everything feels louder. The bathroom feels outdated. The kitchen feels smaller than it used to. The layout feels awkward in a way it never did before.
Other People’s Homes aren’t Living Your Life
Oh yeah, so this part gets forgotten all the time. Keep in mind that other homes are built around other lives. You have different schedules, fifferent habits, and different priorities than this person who’s showing off their house. What works beautifully for someone else might feel completely wrong for how daily life actually unfolds in your space.
Like, a house full of antiques won’t work if you have a bunch of hyperactive kids and dogs that love to tear things up. But okay, now obviously, comparison doesn’t care about context, but you need to remember the context.
Your Home is Allowed to Evolve with You
Well, that’s obvious enough here. It’s fine if you don’t love your home forever; that makes sense. The old version of you from years ago loved it, but you evolved, and so it’s fine that your taste evolved, meaning it’s fine for your home to evolve, too. For example, it’s fine to have bathtub remodeling because you’re sick of your old bathtub and you want something modern.
It’s fine, you’re tired of the all white house and walls, and finally want some color. It’s fine for the interior design to change as well. Sometimes, you’re just wanting some changes, and it’s not that you don’t love your house; you’re just ready for it to evolve because you and your priorities have.
Social Media Makes Everything Feel Behind
Well, you really need to keep in mind that scrolling through curated spaces has a way of flattening reality, like every home is supposed to look finished and effortless all the time. Like, for starters, people are literally designing their homes for social media, that’s one problem. Plus, the mess doesn’t show.
The stress doesn’t show. The in-progress parts don’t show. So, what’s even the reference point? It all seems so unfair from the start. Basically, it creates this stupid expectation are homes are supposed to perform, when no, they literally aren’t supposed to perform!
