Dear Friends,
After six decades as a clinical psychologist, I can tell you this with complete certainty:
Comparing yourself to others is one of the quietest — and most damaging — forms of self-harm.
It feels harmless. It feels natural. But comparison changes your inner landscape immediately. One moment you’re fine, the next you feel behind, inadequate, or not enough.
That’s the trap.
“When you compare anything to anything else, something always comes out better — and something worse.”
And guess who usually ends up on the losing side?
You do.
Comparison blinds you to your own growth.
It steals your attention from the life you’re actually living.
It disconnects you from what is already good.
Here’s the tool I want you to practice this week:
The moment you catch yourself comparing… pause.
Then shift your attention to one thing you genuinely appreciate about your life.
It can be small — a warm cup of tea, the person sitting across from you, a quiet moment after a long day.
Gratitude interrupts comparison.
Every single time.
You don’t have to play the comparison game.
You don’t have to rank yourself against anyone.
You just have to return — gently — to your own path.
Golden light,
Dr. Richard Louis Miller
P.S.I share many short, practical practices like this in my book, Master Your Mind: Practical Tools to Calm Anxiety, Silence Your Inner Critic, and Stop Overthinking. They’re designed to help you find calm, presence, and gratitude in just a few mindful moments each day.
A Year-End Invitation
As the year comes to a close, I want to make my work a little more accessible for those who may need it most.
For the final months of 2025, I’m opening a limited number of one-on-one sessions at a reduced rate — $350 for 1 hour (regularly $500) and $200 for 30 minutes (regularly $300).
These are not traditional therapy sessions. They’re practical, compassionate conversations where we explore tools to quiet the mind, ease anxiety, and find calm amidst the noise of daily life.
If you’ve been thinking about reaching out, now is a good time.
Let’s take a quiet moment together to reflect, breathe, and reconnect before the new year begins.
1-minute mind control (my new book)
Traditional mindfulness and meditation techniques often require a huge investment of your most precious resource (time) without guarantees of results.
My own version of mindfulness—what I sometimes refer to as “mind control”—can be mastered in much less time if you commit to regular 60-90 second practice throughout the day.
Breathing. Witnessing. Changing the channel on negative thoughts.
I’ve honed these techniques over a lifetime of personal and professional practice, and now I’m sharing them with the world.
Get my new book Master Your Mind, and as a thank you for your support, I’ll give you a free 30-day subscription to our premium newsletter and exclusive content. Just reply to this email after you buy it to confirm your purchase.
Next Week’s MBHP Episode:
The Meaning We Make: Creativity, Purpose & Hope — with Dr. Eric Maisel
Renowned psychologist and author of more than 60 books, Dr. Eric Maisel joins Mind Body Health & Politics to explore creativity, existential meaning, and what it truly takes to live a purposeful life.
Eric shares why he’s building a global community for creative and performing artists, how to navigate existential depression, the role of hope in dark times, and why meaning isn’t something we “find” — it’s something we make.
Guest: Dr. Eric Maisel — psychologist, creativity coach, and author of Redesign Your Mind, The Van Gogh Blues, and more than 60 books on meaning, purpose, and mental health.
Mind Body Health & Politics features weekly conversations with researchers, authors, and pioneers working at the frontiers of human consciousness and healing. All episodes from the past 20 years are available free in the archives.
