How to get perspective

Sometimes life can be hard. This is not a great revelation. I'm not trying to make headlines here. We've all been there - and where there is is utterly subjective and depends on the individual.

And that's the trick.

Feeling like your life sucks? Lacking energy or inspiration? Feel like you're unsuccessful in life? Ask someone else how they're doing. Try your best to get a good, long answer out of them.

Two things can happen:

They're doing amazingly and tell you all about how wonderful their life situation is right now. That enthusiasm and energy rubs on to you, and you too will feel like you can do anything.
They're miserable - everything is going downhill in their life and they feel powerless in front of external forces - and this makes you feel like you're actually doing quite great in comparison.

Now, I'm not naive - I know there are two other options:

They're doing amazingly, and you feel even worse in comparison.
They're miserable, and you start to internalize their problems and feel worse about your own life.

But let's assume you're a superman, a great person of valor and integrity who does not compare themselves to others and sees the act of sharing good news and positivity as something that increases said news and positivity in value. Let's assume you are the kind of person to whom the success of others isn't taken from others. Let's assume you're a respectable individual.

In that light, only the two first options matter.