Comparing Yourself To Others Can Be Deadly
Have you ever had one of those days where you just don’t feel like you’re being a success. It’s a terrible feeling, right?
You may find yourself stuck in a writing rut. Or, you can’t seem quite to pull together that logo you were working on. There even may be feelings of despair when it comes to providing for your family, children, or employees.
Most of us struggle from time to time with those thoughts. It’s natural to see someone else for all the great things they have accomplished and get caught up in trying to measure our worth with theirs.
I suffer from this more than I would like.
Sometimes it is energizing to set some goals for yourself and try to achieve them based on what others have done. Run a marathon, build a website or a new language. But, like most of us, you never quite get to it. You try over and over again but where does that lead you?
Unfortunately, it leaves you just as empty as you were before. Why?
The problem isn't that you aren't completing the goals you set out to do. It’s the fact that they were never your goals to begin with.
Too often we look at others as a guiding influence on our goals, design style, craft beer obsessions, and other things that “makeup” who we are. The key is to stop letting someone else set your goals.
Find out what you are good at (or want to get better at) and stick the landing. No one is judging you. Really. Everyone else is focused on themselves. So while you may think you can’t compare to a specific designer or speaker, keep in mind, they may not even know you exist.
I recently started riding my bike in the mornings. It was hard to do but I know that my sticking to it has changed my life in a small way. Why?
Because I did it for myself.
In the end, that’s all that matters.
