--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Comparison is painful. Don't be cowed by…" description: "\"Comparison is painful. Don't be cowed by other people's pretty pictures. When you feel unimpressive, or irrelevant, that has nothing to do with what yo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aab/jennifer-egan-825_capable_comparison-is-painful-don-t-be-cowed-by_345259.jpg" --- # Comparison is painful. Don't be cowed by other people's… ![“Comparison is painful. Don't be cowed by other people's pretty pictures. When you feel unimpressive, or irrelevant, that has nothing to do with what you're actually capable of.” quote by Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aab/jennifer-egan-825_capable_comparison-is-painful-don-t-be-cowed-by_345259.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aab/jennifer-egan-825_capable_comparison-is-painful-don-t-be-cowed-by_345259.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aab/jennifer-egan-825_capable_comparison-is-painful-don-t-be-cowed-by_345259.jpg) > “Comparison is painful. Don't be cowed by other people's pretty pictures. When you feel unimpressive, or irrelevant, that has nothing to do with what you're actually capable of.” [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Comparison can cause pain and self‑doubt, but it shouldn't define your self‑worth or abilities. **In simple terms:** Comparison hurts but doesn't reflect true capability. Key Takeaway Ignore others' highlights; focus on your own growth. Themes self‑esteem comparison confidence Mood reflective determined Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - career setbacks - social media scrolling - personal reflection - goal setting Key Concepts social perception self‑worth Questions to Reflect On - How can you measure your progress without comparing? - What internal standards guide you? A Different Perspective Comparison may overlook systemic advantages that affect outcomes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Capable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capable/) [Comparison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comparison/) [Comparison Painful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comparison-painful-3199515/) [Feel Unimpressive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-unimpressive-3199514/) [Nothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nothing/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Pretty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-pretty-874293/) [Pictures Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pictures-feel-1906061/) ## Related quotes > [If your loved ones are far away, and they're uploading pictures, you feel like that's enough: these loose strands through email, through social media,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-esmail/if-your-loved-ones-are-far-away-and-they-re-uploading-pictures-you/) [Sam Esmail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-esmail/) > [The pictures feel as essential to me as the text. I was always interested in including pictures with writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-calloway/the-pictures-feel-as-essential-to-me-as-the-text-i-was-always/) [Marie Calloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-calloway/) > [Songs are snapshots of things - it's likened to looking at pictures. It will never feel like it felt in real life. When you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-benjamin-lerner/songs-are-snapshots-of-things-it-s-likened-to-looking-at-pictures-it/) [Michael Benjamin Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-benjamin-lerner/) > [I don't feel like I'm taking pictures, I feel like I'm just gathering them in. They're all out there. I know where they'll be;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-norfolk/i-don-t-feel-like-i-m-taking-pictures-i-feel-like-i-m-just-gathering/) [Simon Norfolk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-norfolk/) > [During my performances, I don't like folks to take pictures because I feel that we live in a very photographic time. Photography was invented…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xaviera-simmons/during-my-performances-i-don-t-like-folks-to-take-pictures-because-i/) [Xaviera Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xaviera-simmons/) > [We need to accept that some people are camp and some people are butch. Some people are pretty and some people are average, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-amaechi/we-need-to-accept-that-some-people-are-camp-and-some-people-are-butch/) [John Amaechi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-amaechi/) > [Usually people are pretty cool when they find out it's a TV show.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sal-vulcano/usually-people-are-pretty-cool-when-they-find-out-it-s-a-tv-show/) [Sal Vulcano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sal-vulcano/) > [Although I don't get the parts in films or other television shows that would be befitting of a huge, international star, I don't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-castellaneta/although-i-don-t-get-the-parts-in-films-or-other-television-shows/) [Dan Castellaneta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-castellaneta/) > [It's rare in the NBA, but I have a lot of young female fans from eight to eighteen because of the way I dress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chandler-parsons/it-s-rare-in-the-nba-but-i-have-a-lot-of-young-female-fans-from-eight/) [Chandler Parsons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chandler-parsons/) > [“My mom doesn't know what it's like to be less than perfect, how people zoom in on that until it's all they see. Maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariah-fredericks/my-mom-doesn-t-know-what-it-s-like-to-be-less-than-perfect-how-people/) [Mariah Fredericks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariah-fredericks/) > [People are pretty strange.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-reedus/people-are-pretty-strange/) [Norman Reedus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-reedus/) > [People are pretty respectful for the most part.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leighton-meester/people-are-pretty-respectful-for-the-most-part/) [Leighton Meester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leighton-meester/) > [Interviewing people is pretty natural for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-blackwood/interviewing-people-is-pretty-natural-for-me/) [Nina Blackwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-blackwood/) > [People do pretty ugly things to make themselves feel better, this I do know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariah-fredericks/people-do-pretty-ugly-things-to-make-themselves-feel-better-this-i-do/) [Mariah Fredericks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariah-fredericks/) > [That's why we should respect people: not for how pretty they are, for how useful they are. What would you rather have, a pretty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-wolf/that-s-why-we-should-respect-people-not-for-how-pretty-they-are-for/) [Michelle Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-wolf/) ## More by Jennifer Egan > [“Behind the desk was nothing but view-the whole city flung out in front of us the way street vendors fling out their towels packed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/behind-the-desk-was-nothing-but-view-the-whole-city-flung-out-in/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I just think that, for my particular personality, feeling slightly invisible is always a help.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-just-think-that-for-my-particular-personality-feeling-slightly/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [Between books, I have to throw out everything I did before, because the tools I've used to write the previous book will not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/between-books-i-have-to-throw-out-everything-i-did-before-because-the/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [As a reader and a writer, I'm happiest when apparently mutually exclusive states can somehow coexist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/as-a-reader-and-a-writer-i-m-happiest-when-apparently-mutually/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I teach intermittently, and while I enjoy it, I don't find that it's a calling for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-teach-intermittently-and-while-i-enjoy-it-i-don-t-find-that-it-s-a/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [Like all failed experiments, that one taught me something I didn’t expect: one key ingredient of so-called experience is the delusional faith that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/like-all-failed-experiments-that-one-taught-me-something-i-didn-t/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [“Thousands of solar panels lift and tilt at the same time, in the same way. 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I know what’s going on because it’s the same thing that always happens: give me something nice, something I love or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/the-seconds-pass-i-know-what-s-going-on-because-it-s-the-same-thing/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I had this idea that I could hire myself out as a person to go on archeological digs and dig, without any training! I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-had-this-idea-that-i-could-hire-myself-out-as-a-person-to-go-on/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [At night, the house thick with sleep, she would peer out her bedroom window at the trees and sky and feel the presence of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/at-night-the-house-thick-with-sleep-she-would-peer-out-her-bedroom/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I number my drafts, and by the time a book is done, I'll have 75 or 80 drafts of some sections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-number-my-drafts-and-by-the-time-a-book-is-done-i-ll-have-75-or-80/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [Read at the level at which you want to write. Reading is the nourishment that feeds the kind of writing you want to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/read-at-the-level-at-which-you-want-to-write-reading-is-the/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I was a stepchild in two different families. The hardest thing about being a stepchild is you know that in some way everything would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-was-a-stepchild-in-two-different-families-the-hardest-thing-about-2/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) [Explore all 358 Jennifer Egan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) ## More Capable quotes > [When we are capable of living in the moment free from the tyranny of "shoulds," free from the nagging sensation that this moment isn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-z-borysenko/when-we-are-capable-of-living-in-the-moment-free-from-the-tyranny-of/) [Joan Z. Borysenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-z-borysenko/) > [Everybody is different. Some writers can write reams of great books and then J. D. Salinger wrote just a few. Beethoven wrote nine symphonies.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-joel/everybody-is-different-some-writers-can-write-reams-of-great-books/) [Billy Joel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-joel/) > [People are capable of great, great change during the span of one lifetime. And women even more than men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/people-are-capable-of-great-great-change-during-the-span-of-one/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [When you lived it for years and years and years and seen different characters just get pummeled and squashed because 'I said so,' it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arn-anderson/when-you-lived-it-for-years-and-years-and-years-and-seen-different/) [Arn Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arn-anderson/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [But, outside of being a sweet little girl, she was awfully dumb and capable of doing horrible things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/but-outside-of-being-a-sweet-little-girl-she-was-awfully-dumb-and/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [I was terrible student. I was capable, but I never like being told what to do, so I was always in the bottom class…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-lilley/i-was-terrible-student-i-was-capable-but-i-never-like-being-told-what/) [Chris Lilley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-lilley/) > [Not everyone is capable of madness; and of those lucky enough to be capable, not many have the courage for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-strindberg/not-everyone-is-capable-of-madness-and-of-those-lucky-enough-to-be/) [August Strindberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-strindberg/) > [ \[The Community's\] crosses and trials give me confidence. But I derive my hope above all, and most especially, from our utter incapacity, for it… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-guerin/the-community-s-crosses-and-trials-give-me-confidence-but-i-derive-my/) [Theodore Guerin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-guerin/) > [The mathematical facts worthy of being studied are those which, by their analogy with other facts, are capable of leading us to the knowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-poincare/the-mathematical-facts-worthy-of-being-studied-are-those-which-by/) [Henri Poincare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-poincare/) > [“If you not yet try How to know you can or not?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sopharat/if-you-not-yet-try-how-to-know-you-can-or-not/) [Sopharat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sopharat/) > [I'm attracted to the garden, without a doubt, but I always try and image the wolf that's there, too. 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