Why Comparing Yourself to Another Person Makes No Sense
Compare Yourself to Who You Were Yesterday, Not to Someone Else today — Jordan B. Peterson
You will be the first to tell your story. It might not be similar to anyone else’s — but it will be yours.
It is silly for a coaster bus owner to be displeased because his automobile can’t run as fast as a Lamborghini.
Similarly, it is foolishness for the Lamborghini owner to be discontent because his sports car cannot accommodate up to eighteen passengers. But that is what a lot of people do.
They compare themselves with those stellar in their respective fields and put themselves down because they do not measure up.
No matter how awesome you are at something, or how grand your accomplishments are, there is someone out there who will make you look incompetent.
Stop judging yourself unfairly.
You have got to stop judging yourself by the standards of another person’s path.
Stop beating yourself up for falling short in a game you were never designed to play.
Stop comparing your outcome to that of someone who is not in the same context as you are.
Understand the appropriate standards for your path, and use those standards to define what success is or isn’t. Failure is inevitable if you continue to appropriate the standards for another person to yourself.
Know your strengths and play to them.
Everyone wants to be a seven-figure digital marketer, social media influencer, copywriter, etc.
What they fail to do is assess whether they are competing in a game that favors their strengths.
“Playing to your strengths is what happens when you use your skills to their best advantage and you’re on top of your game. It means you have positioned yourself to use your natural gifts and knowledge to your best advantage.” — Connie Milligan
You might not hear this much, but the truth remains that you will struggle to fit in and thrive in a space you were not designed to function in.
It is not impossible. But you start disadvantaged with the odds stacked against you.
You are not inferior to the icons you admire.
Most of the people that you would refer to as legendary or iconic did not attain such coveted status simply because they were disciplined, hardworking, and consistent — as important as those factors are.
A good number of them discovered the context where their strengths and so-called innate abilities gave them an undue advantage and edge over the average wannabe.
They spotted these paths on time, either by chance or instruction, and continued to hone their genius along those paths.
They excelled because they worked hard at whatever they did, but also because of their design. They had a rather unfair advantage over the average Joe trying to compete in the same field.
The onus falls on you to pay adequate attention to your design and not simply follow the path of least resistance and mainstream endorsement.
You should commit yourself to self-articulation and understanding your potential and the contexts best suited for your expression.
Perhaps it is time you stop seeking validation externally and start looking within.
Start listening to the voice within you that seeks to find expression.
Know your strengths and play to them.
Don’t be the Goliath in a path full of Davids because you might not live to tell the story.
