The other day I faced a temptress I couldn’t resist: the clickbaity celebrity listicle.
Headlines include “10 Celebrities Who Let Themselves Go,” “40 Celebrities Who Worked At McDonald’s,” and “5 Celebrities Afraid of the Color Blue.” You know the type.
The one that got me recently was about wealthy heirs and heiresses.
I know, I know. What is with our fascination with obscene amounts of wealth? Instead of reading a book from my growing shelf, I’m figuring out how much money Jeff Bezos makes every time he sneezes.
The article in question had the usual suspects: Hiltons and Buffets, Hearsts and Rockefellers.
But then I saw a few names that surprised me.
Anderson Cooper. Olivia Wilde. Scarlett Johansson. Chevy Chase?!
All of these people have talent in their own rights, and I don’t mean to take that away from them.
But they had a leg up.
The list, which included many more well-I’ll-be-damned examples, had a surprising effect: it made me feel better.
One of my biggest challenges within personal growth is balancing the pursuit of better with satisfaction for the present. I strive for better without pressure, and I’m preoccupied with that without pressure part.
When our “role models” are wildly successful and seemingly have it all down, it’s easy to feel like you haven’t done enough, haven’t accomplished enough. And of course, you want to look up to those more successful than you and proactively improve your life.
But seeing this list made me take a step back and consider whether I’m grading myself a little too harshly. Perhaps you do the same. While millionaire celebrities are the extreme, there are countless ways in which we compare.
While we can’t use it as an excuse, we can reconsider how we set our own bar.
To being better without Daddy Warbucks,
Elizabeth