one thing a lot of us learn financially is "don't try to keep up with the jones", because it would be an endless cycle. but there's a bigger/different problem. a lot of time, instead of comparing ourselves (our appearance, accomplishments, etc..) with the jones, we compare ourselves with the "superstar" in our world, and find ourselves lacking. for example, women would look at a picture of a 53 years old christie brinkley and feel bad about themselves for not looking as good as she does. or worse comparing themselves to models who are in their 20s, and then feel inadequate. instead of comparing themselves to their next door neighbors, who they look just as good as, if not better.
the lesson is that we need to be fair about our "peer group". unless we think we are models or movie stars, we shouldn't be comparing ourselves to them. we can use them (models & celebrities) as inspiration but we cannot feel bad that we can't compare to them, because no matter how hard some of us try, we just can't. they make a living with their appearance, so a lot of them spend hours every day working on it, not to mention other resources like personal trainer, chefs, etc.. to help them. not only that, plastic surgery sometimes plays a part a well.
so while it is aspirational to look to the "superstars", we should look at the average joes or janes to see where we really stand.
