The CEO of your company is heartbroken that his kids don’t call on fathers’ day. The woman in front of you in the check-out line thinks she’s a failure because she isn’t who her mom expected her to be, even though her job pays the bills and makes her happy. Your parents can’t admit it, but they wished they had been better parents when raising you.

On most days, all we can see are our own problems. We can only see our own expectations, our plans, and our dreams that didn’t come true. And when we look around us, we see peoples’ highlight reels on social media, photoshopped perfection in advertisements, and compare ourselves to the champions in every walk of life…even though no one can be a specialist in everything. We are not fair to ourselves, and we pay too much attention to the failures we’re closest to: our own.

I do it too, and I’m not trying to tell you there’s a one-day cure. I have had the same weight loss goal for 7 years and I’m not there yet. I make okay money but I only compare myself to people who make more. I envy my friends who have a spouse even while my friends envy my freedom and lack of responsibilities. Everyone has problems, everyone thinks other grass is greener, and somehow the most common part of the human experience makes us feel the most alone.

So this post is just a reminder. Don’t think you’re the only one with problems. Don’t think you’re a failure because you’re not doing as well as some people you know. The advantages and disadvantages to you and them were completely different. Both of you did the best you could. Don’t mourn a life you could not have lived.

If you do the best you can today, that’s enough. Other people are also doing their best and they are failing in ways you cannot see. Everyone feels like a screwup on a regular basis, life isn’t fair, and that’s not going to change anytime soon. Take a deep breath. Give yourself permission to accept where you are. You can change it, but only one step at a time. And hating where you are won’t help you get somewhere else.

You’re not alone. Life is really hard. And the fact you’re reading this means you still care. I am too hard on myself also, but I’m trying to remember that giving up doesn’t help and I’m not the only one with problems. Other people have problems as bad or worse than ours, and if we remember that maybe we’ll stop being so hard on ourselves. There’s still time to make things better, and I’m glad you’re still here to try. Not everyone made it as far as you did.