“Comparison is the death of joy.”
― Mark Twain
Have you ever compared yourself to your friends or colleagues?
“She is so lucky – she can eat whatever she wants and never gain a pound, and I’m starving myself and overweight. It’s unfair!”
“He started after me at the same job and he is already promoted twice! What’s the point?”
Comparing yourself to someone else is a surefire way to kill all joy and happiness. You aren’t perfect and you will never be. Be OK with imperfection. Analyze your thoughts, don’t allow comparisons between yourself and others. Your actions depend on your thoughts, and your life depends on your actions. Stop negative thinking! Comparing is poison to your progress and your success.
Remember these things when you’re wasting your time comparing yourself to others:
- We are all unique! Everyone has his own way to live his life. Everyone has a story. All you need is to be yourself and let other people be themselves.
- Nobody’s perfect! As long as we are humans, we are bound to make mistakes or fail sometimes. If you are making mistakes, then you are making and trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world.
Be proud of who you are! You have a unique set of skills and talents, and there are definitely some things that you do better than anyone else.
- Stay independent! Don’t be obsessed with pleasing people to seek their appreciation. You have nothing to gain, but much to lose. For example: your pride, your dignity, your drive, and your passion.
- Pursue the greater things in life! Some of the greatest treasures in this world are hidden from sight: love, humility, empathy, generosity. Desire them above everything else and remove yourself entirely from society’s definition of success.
- Focus on what you can change: yourself! The only healthy comparison you should allow is when you compare yourself with an earlier version of where you were. Admire how far you’ve come!
Comparisons are always unfair. We typically compare the worst we know of ourselves to the best we presume about others. Just remember: we don’t need to be better than anyone else. We need to love who we are, where we are and what we’re doing. That’s what matters.
They say no one in the entire world can do a better job of being you than you. So, why compare yourself to others?