Do you compare yourself to other people? Perhaps your best friend receives something you really want, or you’re not allowed to go to a concert but your brother or sister is. Even though comparisons are common and can sometimes be helpful, focusing (专注) on your own progress is important for your happiness.

“We often compare ourselves to others who are doing better or not as well as ourselves.” says Dr. Jack. “But I suggest comparing yourself to your past self and your future self. This can make you feel proud of what you’ve achieved and excited about what you might do. Focusing on your own purposes is more worthwhile than always trying to come out on top.”

Comparing yourself to those around you is natural and we often do it   without   realizing it. It can help us to be clear about our achievements and to form friendships with new people who have similar interests. However, it’s important to remember that nobody is perfect in real life. It’s also important to take note of how the comparison is making you feel. “If you begin to feel quite low, focus on your own strengths.” says Jack. In other words, you can ask yourself questions like “What can I do well in?”, which can help you trust yourself.

Maybe here you are wondering “What if all my friends are better than me?” Dr. White says that jealousy (妒忌) is not bad but focusing on bettering your own work can help you feel just as successful. He also mentions that learning to celebrate your friends’ success can not only help to cheer your friends up but also help you feel good. It will encourage you to build each other up.

Have you ever stayed deep underground in a cave? You have no food and the oxygen(氧气)is running out. You're not even sure if anyone knows you're down there

A soccer team of 12 young Thai boys, as well as their coach, bad to go through this experience this summer. They became trapped ( 困 住 )in a cave in Thailand on June 23,spending 18 days inside until they were saved by an international team of divers(潜水员).

After hearing the news that a former Thai Navy SEAL（海军海豹突击队员）died while trying to save these kids, my friends and I talked about the situation and felt as if there might be no way to get the children out.

But we held out hope anyway. We refused to give up hope for these kids, even when the situation seemed quite dark. We were rewarded for our hope when they were finally saved.

It can be hard to hold out hope in dark times. Every day, we read or hear about the terrible things that happen in the world. This makes it hard for us to say positive. Some people go through their lives thinking that the worst is always just around the corner.

However, I believe that it's especially important to stay positive during difficult times. This is the best way to deal with the challenges that we face in life. As people often say: there is always a light at the end of the tunnel(隧道).

One day, a master asked his two students Jack and Nick to meet him at the start of a road in a forest.

When they arrived, the master said, “You both have to start here and reach the end point of this road. It doesn’t matter how long it will take.” Then the two started. Just after a while, they found the road was divided into two. Jack decided to follow the smooth one, while Nick followed the other one which was full of obstacles (障碍物).

Jack completed the test soon. It took Nick a long while to reach the end point. When Nick finished, Jack said proudly. “How clever I was! I avoided (避开) all the obstacles of the other road.” The master smiled and told them to join him the next day. This time, they met near a ravine (山谷).The master said, “You need to jump to the other side of the ravine.”

When Jack noticed the width of the ravine, he didn’t have the courage to jump because he had never done that before. Nick, however, remembered his last test and how he had jumped over wide gaps (豁口). Without any difficulty, he made it.

Then, the master said to Jack, “Life is full of challenges. In yesterday’s test, choosing the difficult path could have helped you prepare for this one. When you choose the easier path, you complete that test easily but you will not be able to pass more difficult ones.”