I live in an affluent area. My family is doing great, but I sometimes find myself comparing what I have to what people around me have. Don’t worry, I’m not super materialistic: I don’t envy fancy cars or stuff generally. But, I do feel somehow behind in terms of entertaining ability, or space, or, you know, mental bandwidth.

Blessed with a bevy of nearby friends, I decided to bite the bullet yesterday and invite my daughter’s friends and their families to ice cream at our house last night after an event. Something that I hadn’t done in numbers like that the whole time that we’ve lived here because I was just too afraid that it wasn’t good enough.

I probably don’t have to tell you that everyone had a blast. No one balked at my weedy backyard or the peeling paint in my bathroom. We just enjoyed each other’s company. And some really great hot fudge.

Don’t let envy, or comparison, or fear be the thief of your happiness. Do you hear that, creatives? Someone (everyone) might seem to have their stuff together better than you. Revise better, brainstorm better, create more creatively, get an agent sooner, get more on their book deals or more Twitter followers. Their stuff is not the point. Your stuff is.