Whether it's about how we look, how we perform, or how we excel, someone else's name ends up in the circumstance even though they are completely irrelevant to our capabilities. It tends to happen when under the influence of extreme emotions or insecurities and then it becomes a default in our mental process. There comes a point when you’ll realize that no matter if you compare up or down, you are still standing in the same place. If you don’t want to be there, move. The process of comparison is an absolute trap.
First of all, you set yourself up to lose EVERY time.
If comparing is how you evaluate your worth, you'll always feel like a loser. You will never reach a point where you are better than others. But why would you want to be? Seriously, why?! If you keep trying to be the same as others, you'll never be fulfilled.
I was not a content person before I started college because I'd get drowned by wanting to be just as good as the next person but my mindset was messed up. That got straightened out when I finally made time to work on my own qualities to give God the glory when showcasing them.If you really want to live a life that feels fulfilling, fix your time and energy to your own values.
Stop thinking about what everyone else has.
Just because it's natural doesn't make it good. I remember learning the social comparison theory (yes, that's a thing) once upon a time in a class; we make comparisons as a way of evaluating ourselves. The impulse is connected to the instant judgments we make of other people. The moment you start comparing initiates your downfall.
Stop comparing yourself to where everyone else is. It doesn't move you further, improve your situation, or give you peace. It just feeds your shame, fuels any feelings of incompetence, and ultimately makes you trapped & stagnant. The reality is that there is no one correct path in life except through Jesus because everyone is on their own journey and that is exactly what it is: a journey, not a competition.
Personality begins when comparison ends.
As much as I like social media, there is so much of a downside to it all. We are prone to check something during our downtime, the time when we're more likely to be self-reflective, and it can make for some horrid contrasts. It's part of a natural process of reflected appraisal, wherein we develop a sense of who we are from how others view us.
You think that you've been buried when you're actually planted. The truth about comparing ourselves to others not only stills our joy, it robs others around us of the rare gift we have sustained to bring out. We won't be distracted by comparison if we are captivated with purpose. God would not have made you if He knew that you had nothing to offer to the world.
If you're inevitably going to compare, then compare who you are now to who you were. Are you pleased with who you are? Do you recognize your reflection when you look in the mirror? We ought to strive to be the best possible versions of ourselves, not only for our own sake but for the benefit and contribution we can offer to others. Your life holds too much beauty & promises to compare it away.
