Research shows that we tend to compare our weaknesses with other people’s strengths.

Anxiety is general unease because of an uncertain outcome. We feel anxious when we aren’t sure how larger forces will interfere with our lives. Fear is when we believe that something specific will happen (like tripping over your words during an important presentation, or a loved one dying).

Instead of making busyness a barrier to your anxiety, stop, acknowledge it, and sit with it.

Myth #1: Get off social media and you’ll be free from comparison

By converting your ambient anxiety into more specific fears, you can pinpoint exactly what you’re afraid of losing and how you might be able to avoid some of those circumstances. Often you’ll find that you’re scared of losing a part of your identity or of experiencing uncomfortable emotions in the future.

Design your life based on your tolerance for uncertainty

Think of anger as a nonspecific alarm intended to move you out of harm’s way.

You have to look your anxiety in the face and say, “Thanks for trying to protect me. I see you.”

Counterintuitively, science shows that what makes us miserable isn’t comparison itself; it’s when we don’t compare ourselves to others enough. That might sound ridiculous at first, especially if you believe the saying “Comparison is the thief of joy” (which has been attributed to President Theodore Roosevelt and others).