Why You Shouldn’t Compare Yourself With Others
Comparing ourselves with others is something us humans love to do.
Whether it’s comparing where we are at in our lives, cars, or the size of our homes, we love to compare.
But is it healthy? Does comparing ourselves to our peers improve our lives?
The problem is that it can lead you to think that there is something missing from your life.
If we are constantly comparing ourselves to others, eventually we are going to find areas where we don’t match up.
Inevitably, this is going to leave you feeling inferior and depressed. It’s normal, no one likes to see that they aren’t as good as they thought they were.
That’s not to say comparison is a bad thing. Used correctly, it can help you to identify your weak points so you can improve on them.
But, if we dwell on these points and let them consume us, we will end up demotivated and devoid of ambition.
Comparison is a useful tool, but should we turning it on ourselves instead of on others?
Go Compare
When we compare ourselves to others, it is often in an instant with no regard for what has got the person to that stage.
If you compare the amount of money someone earns with yourself, and the result isn’t your liking, it’s easy to become disillusioned.
You wouldn’t be human if you didn’t.
However, this is like looking at a house through a keyhole. You only see part of the picture, your view is obscured and you can’t make out the finer details.
You’re seeing the results without understanding the cause behind them.
We are neglecting to look at the processes that person employed to get to where they are today.
This is why comparing yourself to others is a recipe for disaster, because we often have no point of reference.
You could be at the start of your journey and you are comparing yourself to someone who is well down the road on theirs.
There are bound to be discrepancies if we make snap judgements from quick comparisons.
It’s not the comparison between yourself and someone else that is important at his, but the processes that took the person to where you want to be.
If you see someone who has the results you desire, you need to ask yourself what they have done to get there, and how that compares to what you are doing.
Now that you have a point of reference, it’s time to turn that critical eye away from others and on to yourself.
Compare With Yourself
Comparison with others has its uses, but the only person you should be comparing yourself against is yourself.
It may be useful to have a point of reference to compare yourself with others, but it’s still an incomplete picture.
You will not know what it’s like to be them. You won’t know what motivates them on a daily basis, and you will never know the whole story.
You cannot control others, but you can use it as inspiration to control something you can, yourself.
All the information may not be available about others, but all that information is at hand for yourself.
Only you know what truly motivates you, only you know what’s it like to be you.
If you want to reach your goals you need to stop worrying about what other people are doing and focus on you.
Consider how you can improve yourself today, contemplate how you can be better than you were yesterday.
Progress is incremental, it does not happen overnight. If you can improve by 1% each day, those gains are going to increase over time.
If you’re already on your journey, look back to when you started. What was your situation like then?
Comparing yourself in this regard can you give the confidence boost you need to push on and achieve your goals.
Sometimes, it only takes a glance into the past to see how far we can go in the future.
