Competition and Comparison

Comparison is The The Thief of Joy Print from MulberryPress

We live in a society that constantly encourages competition and comparison. Women especially are encouraged to be more attractive than their friends, a better cook, craftier, nicer, and just better in any way imaginable. Whether it is comparing boobs or books read, many women constantly compare themselves to others.

 

You don’t know that person’s strengths, weaknesses, or history.

What many people forget when they are comparing themselves to others is that they have no idea where that person started out or what all their strengths and weaknesses are. The boss you compare yourself to may get more vacation time and a better salary but they also may have had to work weekends for years to get to where they are now. Maybe your neighbor is in perfect shape but she also may not be as good at painting as you are. Maybe your coworker just won employee of the month but maybe they had to sacrifice a lot of time with their significant other to win that title. Everyone has a different story when it comes to meeting his or her goals in life. Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. No one has a life that is completely perfect.

 

You don’t know that persons insecurities.

It is very possible that the people you are comparing yourself to may wish they were better at some of the things that you are amazing at. Everyone has their own insecurities. Even the most beautiful and successful people among us find themselves feeling insecure from time to time. It is fine to feel that way every once in a while but it is important to quickly remember that you are an amazing individual with a unique skill set to offer the world.

 

The competition is in your head.

In our social media obsessed world, it is easy to look up what our peers or others in our industry are up to and compare ourselves to them. So many people get locked into an imaginary competition with people they have never even met in person but may follow on twitter or instagram. At the end of the day, the competition is all in your head. If you are not rocking the best outfit next time you are out with your friends, life will go on. If your coworkers numbers are higher than yours this week, you can still turn things around the following week. Just because some of the moms at your school always look put together, doesn’t mean that there is anything wrong with you not looking perfect all of the time. If you have personal goals that are important to you, focus on those goals instead of focusing on other people. Whether or not they reach those goals before you does not change your chances to meet them or the satisfaction you should receive after meeting them. The more time you spend in an imaginary competition, the less time you can actually spend getting better.

 

Compete with yourself.

It is often said that the only person you should be competing with is yourself. At the end of each day, your time would be better spent focusing on yourself than others. If at the end of each day, you have become better than you were the day before, then you are making great progress. Becoming the best version of yourself means honestly admitting where you are with your goals and working every day to bridge the gap from who you were yesterday to who you will be tomorrow.

 

 

Chances are you are already pretty great so focus on what you love about yourself, change what you don’t love, and work everyday to be the best version of you that you can possibly be. After all, there is no one on earth who is better than being you than you!