Self-Esteem
A lot of us think we are not good enough. It sounds cliché, but I've found that, unfortunately, it's a large part of what drives us, and at the same time, it's what makes us feel vulnerable or hurt.
Society has taught us to constantly compare ourselves to others: who has the better job, the better body, more friends. It becomes automatic so much so that we may not even notice it. We look at others and feel insecure about where we're at, maybe we feel like we're falling behind.
But I've found that through mindfulness, we can learn to live in a new way, without these endless comparisons, and it's much more freeing.
I remember those who gave me this advice: Don't get distracted by the noise, just focus on your own work and do the best you can. When we stop comparing ourselves to our ideal standards of who we should be, we're actually a lot more lighthearted and easy to be around. I've found that only when I started to love myself as I was could I begin to truly change.