The Illusion of Perfection in the Lives of Others

Oftentimes, people look at others and regard them as people that have everything together: good marriage, nice cars, nice house, good job and on it goes. I have looked at others in this regard at times during my life and have been slightly envious of them. Have you ever looked at a person or a couple and thought "These people have the world at their fingertips; they have a perfect life."?

I have learned from experience that nobody has a perfect life and that everyone has their problems. At the surface, people can present themselves as successful and happy, but beneath the surface their life could be going down the toilet or they could be really unhappy. Don't fall for the facade!

Think about it: do you really know the state of a couple's marriage? Some couples project the image of being in-love and happier than two love birds, but privately they could be on the verge of divorce. When many couples actually do divorce, most of their friends and family are so shocked and say things like "I thought you two were doing so well, what happened?" This is because the couple wanted to make it seem like everything was fine and well with their relationship until they could no longer hide the fact that it was disintegrating.

Do you know someone who drives a nice car? How far did they have to go into debt in order to drive a hot set of wheels like that? Can they afford the paint repair when someone opens a door into theirs in the Wal-Mart parking lot? Sometimes people become slaves to their possessions; will you envy them then? Maybe you think their car is nice, but they think it's not good enough and are just thinking about the next best thing they can get. Are they content with the things they have? Sometimes you never know.

A person or family may have a gorgeous house, but more important than having a spectacular dwelling is having a happy home. Do the children respect and obey the parents? Do the husband and wife get along? Does a person live in an incredible place all alone, but somehow still feels empty? Why be envious, when you don't know the whole story?

Nice, big house

Have you ever looked at someone and thought "This person has such a good job, I wish I had half the career he/she has."? Have you thought of the chance that this person hates their job, but is dependent upon the money it brings in and they are afraid to try something else? It might be a high stress job that takes a devastating toll on their health, but they present a good appearance to make it seem like they are happy and successful.

Don't waste your life being envious of others or wishing you had their lives. Have you ever heard the term 'Be careful what you wish for'? When you wish you had another person's life, much of the time you do not know what you are wishing for. Rejoice in your own life and count your blessings. Take an inventory of your strengths and weaknesses and use them to create goals to get to where you want to be in life. Work hard to make your dreams come true. You are a unique and talented individual, use that to your advantage and achieve! One of my favorite Sergeants Major I had in the Marines had a quote at the end of every email saying "What you lack in talent, make up for in hustle." If you lack talent, practice hard to get better.

Nobody has all their ducks in a row, so to speak. If you only knew the truth, you may not be envious of others at all. Live your dream; live your best life and be an extraordinaire. Some people want you to be envious of them because it feeds their ego so they present a better-than-reality facade of themselves to the world. Don't feed their hungry egos; live your own life and be content to be you.

Please leave some comments. Do you know of anyone who has tried to present their lives as perfect but later it was apparent it was all a lie and their walls came crashing down? Share your story in the comments.