Looking at life vertically
A couple of weeks ago, I heard someone talking about the importance of looking at your life vertically instead of horizontally. It was one of those moments where a lot was being said at a rapid speed. You know when people talk so fast that you can’t fully grasp what they’re telling you, but then all of a sudden, they say something that just hits, and you almost wish you could cut them off and pause them for a little moment? Because you know the words you just heard are words that are going to stick with you, words you need to meditate on because you know they might shift the way you see things. Have you ever experienced one of those moments? I consider myself lucky to have experienced several in my life, moments where I know I’ve genuinely learnt something that has shifted the way I think. Anyway, let’s get back to what was actually said.
What does looking at your life vertically instead of horizontally mean, and why is it so important? Several weeks have passed since I first heard this, and I keep coming back to it. You know those topics that suddenly grab your attention just as you’re about to fall asleep, and all of a sudden you’re wide awake again, discovering the layers of one “simple” sentence? Have you experienced one of those moments?
For the majority of my life, I looked at life horizontally. I always feel extremely old when I say this (I’m 28 for reference), but I was constantly looking at my life in relation to what was happening in other people’s lives. I was a prisoner of comparison. Comparing myself to the girl in front of me at the supermarket, or to the girl I’d “met” online a couple of days earlier. Scrolling through other people’s perfectly curated lives and measuring mine against their circumstances, achievements, and the standards of the world. I’d often have thoughts like, “Why is their life moving faster than mine?” or “Am I where I should be right now?” These thoughts were completely normal to me. I didn’t even consciously recognise them as harmful, or certainly not as harmful as they actually were.
In August 2025, I gave my life to Jesus. I could write an entire book about how getting to know Jesus has changed every part of my being. I’ll save that for another time. But what I must tell you, for the sake of this story, is that allowing Jesus to pour out all the love He has for me has shown me just how unloving I had been towards myself. For years before giving my life to Jesus, I preached the importance of self love on Instagram and talked about mental health, convincing myself that I was in a better place year after year. But experiencing the way He loves me shed light on all the lies I had told myself, lies wrapped up beautifully in the most expensive wrapping paper. You know, the kind you find at Christmas in those luxurious department stores. Looking at life horizontally was one of those lies.
The world might tell you to surround yourself with people you look up to or strive to be like one day, collect images of the things you want, find people who inspire you, create a mood board, visualise your dream life, and just keep working towards it. That will give you success. That will make you happy. One day, you’ll be the richest, most influential person in the room. But I believe there are few bigger lies than the idea that we’ll finally be happy once we’ve become the person we think we should be. Because comparison has no natural finish line. What happens when culture itself is wrong about what matters? What happens when the things society rewards are in conflict with the things God values?
For the first time in my life, I didn’t feel like I wanted to go anywhere other than simply being in the presence of God’s immense love for me. I no longer felt called to the career I had envisioned for myself, or craved the thought of one day pulling up in a Ferrari as if I had my entire life together. My eyes had been opened by the One who created the heavens and the earth, and all I wanted was to never lose sight of what truly matters: His unconditional love for me. Being His daughter was enough. Enough for me to stop chasing a version of myself I thought I needed to become, and enough for me to realise that my life didn’t have to look a certain way to be meaningful. I still hope I never lose sight of this realisation. The world can be tough out there girls, so let’s talk about this vertical way of looking at your life.
Horizontally, I used to ask, “How am I doing compared to them?” Vertically, I ask, “Am I living from the knowledge of how deeply God loves me?” I could be admired by thousands and still be far from the person God is calling me to become. At the same time, I could live a life that looks ordinary to the world and yet be extraordinarily faithful. I’m learning that my life doesn’t have to look a certain way for me to be enough. Now that my identity is rooted in who Christ tells me I am, I can live, love, and grow without making my worth dependent on what I achieve. So what does this look like in my everyday life? Whenever my thoughts try to trick me into looking at life horizontally and I catch myself thinking, “Why aren’t I where they are?”, I ask God to help me see things vertically instead. To remind me of what is already true, of who I am in Him, and of what truly matters. I can assure you it’s worth the try.
So here’s just a little reminder for you: take cute pictures horizontally, but make sure you look at your life vertically. It was a short reminder, I just used a lot of words. I give you permission to pause me.
Looking at life vertically
A couple of weeks ago, I heard someone talking about the importance of looking at your life vertically instead of horizontally. It was one of those moments where a lot was being said at a rapid speed. You know when people talk so fast that you can’t fully grasp what they’re telling you, but then all of a sudden, they say something that just hits, and you almost wish you could cut them off and pause them for a little moment? Because you know the words you just heard are words that are going to stick with you, words you need to meditate on because you know they might shift the way you see things. Have you ever experienced one of those moments? I consider myself lucky to have experienced several in my life, moments where I know I’ve genuinely learnt something that has shifted the way I think. Anyway, let’s get back to what was actually said.
What does looking at your life vertically instead of horizontally mean, and why is it so important? Several weeks have passed since I first heard this, and I keep coming back to it. You know those topics that suddenly grab your attention just as you’re about to fall asleep, and all of a sudden you’re wide awake again, discovering the layers of one “simple” sentence? Have you experienced one of those moments?
For the majority of my life, I looked at life horizontally. I always feel extremely old when I say this (I’m 28 for reference), but I was constantly looking at my life in relation to what was happening in other people’s lives. I was a prisoner of comparison. Comparing myself to the girl in front of me at the supermarket, or to the girl I’d “met” online a couple of days earlier. Scrolling through other people’s perfectly curated lives and measuring mine against their circumstances, achievements, and the standards of the world. I’d often have thoughts like, “Why is their life moving faster than mine?” or “Am I where I should be right now?” These thoughts were completely normal to me. I didn’t even consciously recognise them as harmful, or certainly not as harmful as they actually were.
In August 2025, I gave my life to Jesus. I could write an entire book about how getting to know Jesus has changed every part of my being. I’ll save that for another time. But what I must tell you, for the sake of this story, is that allowing Jesus to pour out all the love He has for me has shown me just how unloving I had been towards myself. For years before giving my life to Jesus, I preached the importance of self love on Instagram and talked about mental health, convincing myself that I was in a better place year after year. But experiencing the way He loves me shed light on all the lies I had told myself, lies wrapped up beautifully in the most expensive wrapping paper. You know, the kind you find at Christmas in those luxurious department stores. Looking at life horizontally was one of those lies.
The world might tell you to surround yourself with people you look up to or strive to be like one day, collect images of the things you want, find people who inspire you, create a mood board, visualise your dream life, and just keep working towards it. That will give you success. That will make you happy. One day, you’ll be the richest, most influential person in the room. But I believe there are few bigger lies than the idea that we’ll finally be happy once we’ve become the person we think we should be. Because comparison has no natural finish line. What happens when culture itself is wrong about what matters? What happens when the things society rewards are in conflict with the things God values?
For the first time in my life, I didn’t feel like I wanted to go anywhere other than simply being in the presence of God’s immense love for me. I no longer felt called to the career I had envisioned for myself, or craved the thought of one day pulling up in a Ferrari as if I had my entire life together. My eyes had been opened by the One who created the heavens and the earth, and all I wanted was to never lose sight of what truly matters: His unconditional love for me. Being His daughter was enough. Enough for me to stop chasing a version of myself I thought I needed to become, and enough for me to realise that my life didn’t have to look a certain way to be meaningful. I still hope I never lose sight of this realisation. The world can be tough out there girls, so let’s talk about this vertical way of looking at your life.
Horizontally, I used to ask, “How am I doing compared to them?” Vertically, I ask, “Am I living from the knowledge of how deeply God loves me?” I could be admired by thousands and still be far from the person God is calling me to become. At the same time, I could live a life that looks ordinary to the world and yet be extraordinarily faithful. I’m learning that my life doesn’t have to look a certain way for me to be enough. Now that my identity is rooted in who Christ tells me I am, I can live, love, and grow without making my worth dependent on what I achieve. So what does this look like in my everyday life? Whenever my thoughts try to trick me into looking at life horizontally and I catch myself thinking, “Why aren’t I where they are?”, I ask God to help me see things vertically instead. To remind me of what is already true, of who I am in Him, and of what truly matters. I can assure you it’s worth the try.
So here’s just a little reminder for you: take cute pictures horizontally, but make sure you look at your life vertically. It was a short reminder, I just used a lot of words. I give you permission to pause me.
Written by: Lotte Yvette
