Everyone’s life is harder than it looks

We share highlights. We hide disappointments.

We’re filmed cutting down nets. There’s no footage of us quietly sobbing in a locker room.

We look at dozens of photos of our families to find the right one for our holiday card. We don’t mention all the times we argued. The times we hurt and disappointed one another.

We issue press releases when we make a big sale or beat a revenue target.

We don’t share missed deadlines. Or lost clients.

But all of us sometimes fall short, even when we give our best effort. All of us hurt and disappoint people we love. And all of us miss deadlines, lose clients, and fail to meet expectations of people we admire.

It’s natural to share highlights. But we shouldn’t compare our insides to other people’s outsides. To their highlights.

Real life is meandering and messy.

Everyone’s life is harder than it looks.