Stage 3 · Lesson 2 of 6

LinkedIn and highlight reels

Comparison, LinkedIn and your own timeline

LinkedIn, Instagram and group chats show people's best moments: offers, internships, scholarships, visas, promotions. You see their highlight reel and compare it with your behind-the-scenes. People rarely post the rejections, the months of searching, the family help or the luck behind the announcement.

Research has linked passive scrolling, especially when it leads to upward comparison, with lower mood. You do not have to leave these platforms; they are useful for your career. But you can change how you use them: post and search with a purpose, mute people whose posts reliably leave you feeling worse, and turn off notifications.

Common trapopening LinkedIn first thing in the morning, before you have done anything yourself.

A question to check yourself and an AI practice session come when you add the roadmap to your account. Add it

Resources for this stage

Practise

Greater Good in Action (UC Berkeley)
Gratitude and kindness practices that shift attention away from scorekeeping

Keep handy

Sefism LinkedIn and Personal Branding Roadmap
Use LinkedIn with a purpose: show your own work rather than watch everyone else

Also worth your time

The Courage to Be Disliked (Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga)ReadPaid
A dialogue on letting go of competition and other people's approval

Struggling right now? If you are in danger or thinking about harming yourself, contact local emergency services or a crisis line: Find a helpline (any country), Umang (Pakistan), Tele-MANAS, 14416 (India).