Why You Shouldn’t Compare Yourself To Others

It’s natural if sometimes, we compare ourselves to others. But you should know that doing so can have a lot of negative implications. If you want to know more, then this post can certainly help you understand.  

It Can Be Damaging  

When you compare yourself, you start to feel a lot of negative things. You get envious, and your self-esteem becomes lower, and you start to distrust people around you. In some cases, you might even experience depression.  

Sometimes, we intentionally look for a person’s not-so-good side so we can feel better about ourselves. Yet again, this breeds jealousy and is never good.  

We Compare Against A False Reality  

This is absolutely true, most especially in the digital age. When you browse social media, you start to feel low about yourself. You think you are not doing good enough because you can’t buy that new purse that your friend has. You believe that you are unworthy, because you do not receive flowers during special occasions, and you can’t post anything on your feed.  You even question your decisions in life because until now, you cannot afford to travel.  

If these things seem familiar, then stop!  

You should know that most people just post the highlight of their lives on social media. It’s quite impossible for you to see the real deal. Remember that we all have our good side and bad side. That doesn’t mean that their lives are perfect and yours is plain bad. It’s a mixture of everything and trying to compare their good side with your bad side is like comparing apples to oranges. It doesn’t make sense.  

It’s A Waste Of Time  

If you keep on comparing yourself to others, you are wasting a significant amount of time. You start to think about what’s wrong with your life basing it on what you see from others. But in reality, what you need to do is to keep improving yourself. Bear in mind that you have your own race to finish. Looking at others will just slow you down.  

How to Stop Comparing Yourself To Others  

In this section, we will share with you how to combat that bad habit of comparing yourself to others. That way, you can live a genuinely happy life.  

So, shall we begin?  

We All Have Different Starting Lines  

In life, we do not start the race at the same time. Some may go first, while others could be a bit delayed. But that doesn’t mean that your race is less exciting.  

Take for example, if your high school classmates started their college journey right away and you decided to take a gap year, that doesn’t mean they are better than you.  

But what you can do with that gap year is to ensure that you are productive. Yes, you might not be able to get the diploma at the same time that they will. However, you can experience many things that they couldn’t. You can travel a lot or even try working. Both of you will be learning. It’s just that they are getting the lectures from the classroom, and you are getting lessons from real life. 

You Can Be Anything – But Not Everything  

Let’s face this. You can be anything as long as you put your mind and soul to it. If you are passionate to become a doctor, then go ahead and try getting into medical school. If you want to be a painter, then get some art tools and learn the techniques. Focus is the key if you want to be something.  

The thing is, you might be comparing yourself to a person with different skill sets. And that’s just useless! You cannot be everything, but you can be anything with your unique abilities.  

If there is one competition that you are sure to win, it’s being you.  

You Compare Yourself With The Person You Are Yesterday  

What we recommend is that you compare yourself with who you are before. Try to evaluate how much you’ve grown. From there, you can gain that confidence back. Again, this is what is important. As long as you try to keep on moving forward, that’s already good enough.  

So again, try to block your sight whenever you feel jealous about other’s achievements. Instead, use them as your inspiration.