Reminder to Self: Your Journey is Unlike Theirs. Stop Comparing!
At some point or the other in life, we’ve compared ourselves to someone else. Not only us, but others have also compared us to someone we know or have heard off. Sadly, maybe at some point, even your parents questioned your capabilities and have compared you to your cousin or a friend.
Unfortunately, the habit of comparing has been inculcated in us. Why? How? What for? I don’t think anyone of us has an answer as to why, how, and what for. This particular habit of ours makes us extremely competitive and dissatisfied with what we have.
Over the past couple of months, I’ve reflected upon my entire life. Honestly, I neither had the time to do so earlier nor did I feel the need for it but I am glad I did so.
I haven’t had the best of times as a teenager. I had short hair and used to look gawky. Who didn’t in their awkward stage? My schoolmates used to talk about my thick eyebrows and how weird I was. Well, honestly, I wasn’t weird, I just preferred to either keep to myself or be with my few friends. Well, nevertheless, the constant criticism led me to compare myself to the rest. I ended up wanting to be as pretty as the rest of the girls in high school and I worked on my grades because I had to prove a point, I wanted to prove that I was smart and intelligent.
That’s where it all started. As I grew older and as time passed by, I started to compare myself more to others. I wasn’t aware that comparing myself was a step towards dissatisfaction. I would have definitely done things differently had I known back then that comparing yourself to another person only makes you miserable. I’ll be honest, I’ve compared my looks, dress sense, academics, and even my career growth to different people. There were times I wasn’t content with my personal achievements only because of the comparisons I made.
After all these years of comparing myself to another person, I’ve thankfully realized that it makes no sense and wouldn’t work in my favor, instead, I’ll always be unhappy.
I’ve come to terms with the fact that my life and my journey is unique. I am an individual and my story might not be as great as anyone else’s but it still is mine. My journey and my life wasn’t and isn’t perfect but the best part is this that I no longer expect it to be perfect and nothing close to anyone else’s.
When we compare ourselves to another person, we subconsciously ape the other person and end up losing our individuality. It’s absolutely okay to be inspired by someone else or look up to another person for inspiration but not to compare your life and journey with someone else. Learn to cherish your journey.
Always remember that you’re unique and there’s none as fabulous as you!
