When I open Facebook, my feed is full of posts like, “That girl got a full-funded scholarship” or “That boy ranked first in a very competitive exam.” I really feel good for them. It’s inspiring, but at the same time, when I read those articles, my life feels like an empty white paper with no achievements.

When I see someone writing an article so thoughtfully, speaking so well, or drawing something outstanding, I ask myself, “Why can’t I do what they are doing?” It’s not really a comparison. It’s a self-doubt question I ask myself: Am I worth anything at all? Sometimes I feel like I don’t have enough talent like other people do.

I know that not everything is based on talent. Suppose someone plays basketball really well. That doesn’t mean it’s all about talent. Of course, there is hard work behind it. That person may have worked for many years to reach that position.

But still, my mind doesn’t want to accept that fact.

Once, I took part in a drawing competition because I thought the drawing I had done might stand out and I could win the prize. I have always had this craze for winning a prize, taking a crest, and telling my parents that I won a competition. I believed that I could do it, but I didn’t.

When I saw that there were many people who had done far better than me, my drawing suddenly felt like nothing in front of theirs.

That made me feel really worthless, and it made all my efforts feel worthless too.

My mind kept telling me, “It will not work for you. Someone else will always take your place.”

I always think there is something in them that I don’t have.

Even if I have some achievements, I find them worthless. I feel like I have done nothing in my whole life. I find myself feeling so helpless. This thought doesn’t get out of my head.

Every time I try to learn a skill, I try to have patience and the courage to learn it. But somehow, I can’t do it. Maybe my obsession with mastering a skill doesn’t let me focus. I forget that I shouldn’t chase perfection first; in fact, I should first focus on just learning.

Wanting perfection or wanting to become an expert at something is not bad, but sometimes it gets in the way of learning it properly.

Besides, it takes away the interest in learning a new skill. It has happened to me many times.

But I have realised that not winning a prize or not getting a compliment for your work doesn’t mean your effort or hard work is worthless. Yes, maybe someone did it better than you, but we have to remember that person was probably in your place at some point too. The difference between me and them was that they kept going even if things were imperfect, but I didn’t. I stopped and started questioning myself. They kept trying, and at some point, maybe they succeeded.

I should not give up on something I am interested in just because I feel like I am not good at it. Maybe at first, we are not good at something, but with time, we can actually become capable at it. It takes time. Some people learn quickly, while others take more time. What matters is that we don’t give up.

I think many students and young people go through these questions every day. Someone else’s achievement can easily make us ask ourselves, “Can I ever do that?” or “Will I ever achieve something like this?” We start thinking that we have to achieve the same things to prove ourselves, even when we are not genuinely interested in them.

Sometimes, searching for answers to my questions moves me away from the path I have chosen for myself. We should choose our direction not based on the rate of success, but rather on where we can work with our whole heart and enjoy what we do.

I have decided that I will stop questioning myself. I should not focus only on perfection. It’s okay if, as a beginner, I’m not doing well. I will give it time, and I should have hope that, with time, I can also do better. I think we should accept our flaws and try to work on them instead of making ourselves feel worthless.

I am also trying to change myself through these realisations. Maybe I’m not good enough at everything. Maybe I can’t meet the expectations I have for my life, but I will not stop trying. I hope no one ever stops.