The first time I went to a yoga class I did not want to go back.

Everyone was better than me.

Everyone was bendier and more graceful. I couldn’t even touch my toes.

The more I looked at others the worse I did.

Not only because I felt increasingly inadequate but because I forced myself into the poses they could do and I couldn’t.

Ouch.

I found that if I focused on myself I made a lot more progress.

I had to begin by accepting exactly where I was.

I had to determine what worked for me, regardless of what worked for everybody else.

Instagram is not bad for my mental health. I cannot blame an outside thing for an internal fracture. If I do, the problem I find there I will find everywhere: Instagram is bad for me. Yoga is bad for me. Social media is bad for me. My school is bad for me. My friends are bad for me. My office is bad for me.

What I need to address is me.

I stopped comparing myself to others when I understood that every second spent looking at someone else would be better spent working on myself.