Why you should not compare yourself to others

Diagram based on James Clear’s article “Martha Graham on the Hidden Danger of Comparing Yourself to Others”.

“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open.” — Martha Graham via James Clear

It might be difficult not to compare ourselves to others. I find it easier to think of it as — would we fault an ant because it was created not as an elephant? Or are the stem and roots of a plant less important than its flower? Yeah I don’t think so. Every piece in nature is beautiful and has its special part to play. Even as we run our own races, we are playing our special part — Inspired by the words of Winnie Lim.

The ripples of our footsteps are felt by each other, resulting in a spiral pattern as indicated on the graph below.