“When you are content to be simply yourself and don’t compare or compete, everybody will respect you.”
– LAO TZU
We all do it at one point in our lives. We all compare ourselves to other people, and we gauge where we are and how we are doing based on our observations of them. We judge ourselves and believe we are not worthy if we are not up to par with those who we deem successful. What we do may seem little in comparison to what others are doing.
When we focus on the abilities, talents and gifts of others, we will overlook our own abilities, talents and gifts. Someone once said, “Never compare your beginning to someone else’s middle.” We are all on different roads, traveling at different rates. We all have different backgrounds, upbringings and experiences, and it’s erroneous to compare our worth based on our perception of others.
Your worth is not measured by how many likes you get on social media, or how many people are on your friend’s list. Your worth is not measured by how much money you have in your bank account, or the type of job you have. Your worth is definitely not measured by your marital status.
In fact, your worth cannot be measured. You are greater than you think. You have an assignment that only you can fulfill. You are created for an awesome purpose, and comparing yourself to others is an irrelevant and inaccurate measuring stick. You are one of a kind. There has never been, and there will never be, someone like you. What sets you apart from the rest of the world is who you are as an individual.
Dr. Myles Munroe, a Bahamian minister and motivational speaker, once said, “The greatest discovery in life is self-discovery. Until you find yourself you will always be someone else. Become yourself.” Embrace, respect and cherish your differences.
In today’s society, we are brainwashed to think that we need to act or look a certain way. Instead of embracing our differences, society tends to disapprove them. There is this notion that there’s a standard trait of beauty that everyone around the globe should abide by: every woman should have flawless complexion, long hair and a stick-figure frame; and, every man should be tall, muscular and make tons of money.
Whenever you compare yourself to others, you will always have self-esteem issues and question your worth and value. You will constantly be unsatisfied with what you have and how you look!
Nobody is perfect. We can admire and respect other people’s abilities, talents and successes, but comparing yourself to others is foolish. It’s a negative and unhealthy habit. The famous actors or the millionaires you read about in magazines or hear on the news have their own struggles. They are not immune to sickness or death. They bleed and hurt just like you and me. They are human.
Whenever you find yourself comparing yourself to others, stop and re-direct your thoughts. Instead of comparing yourself to others, you can compare yourself to who you were in the past. Ask yourself this question, “Am I better than I was yesterday?”
There’s also a danger in this comparison. We can’t go back and change what we did. The primary goal is to look at how far you have come, how much you’ve grown and what you can improve.
Excerpts taken from “How to Stay Motivated” by Cindy Similien-Johnson