How can I stop comparing myself to others?
What happens when you see other people completing degrees, travelling, progressing with their careers/businesses, buying property, getting engaged/married and having kids? You might feel happy for them and use their achievements/milestones as inspiration, but what if you get caught in the negativity of comparison? Do you feel down about yourself and experience doubts about where you are in life?
It is said that “comparison is the thief of joy”. So how can you escape the trap of comparison and stop it from stealing your joy?
We are all unique individuals with different journeys. Know that you are on your own journey and trust that you are exactly where you need to be right now. It is not a race – take your journey at your own pace.
“Don’t compare your beginning to someone else’s middle.” Others may be at different stage to you and it may have taken them a long time to get there. You will be doing yourself an injustice if you are comparing your day 1 with someone’s day 1000+.
Everyone has a beginning, so don’t give up, but know that it may take some time to reach a certain level of success. Think about the beginnings of Amazon in the garage of a rented home and how it has become a huge company today.
Take a social media detox. With its continuous feed of highlights from people’s lives, social media is a prime platform for you to compare yourself with others. However, social media is just the highlight reel of people’s lives – the things that they want you see. Often, we won’t see the struggles, hardship and sacrifices that people experience – these usually aren’t showcased. Just remember that what you see on social media might not represent the full picture of what someone experiences. Log off from social media for a week, limit your exposure to the highlight reel and see how you feel. As a bonus, you’ll potentially save a lot of time spent mindlessly scrolling.
Remind yourself of this quote: “A flower does not think of competing with the flower next to it. It just blooms”. Just focus your energies on your own growth and doing the best that you can, rather than comparing yourself to other people.
Know that you are worthy just as you are. You are special and unique in your own way that cannot ever be replaced. Cherish that. No comparison can take that away.
