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The Comparison Trap

"Don't compare your beginning, to someone else's middle." - Jon Acuff

23
Savannah Class Ring
@jinnykphoto

I work in a business where I interact with probably 100 people a day. I hear stories from all walks of life, I hear people's complaints, worries, happy days, pure joy, etc. One person was telling me about how their daughter had obsessive comparison disorder for a whole year. Yes, I term I had never heard of either. He told me that is basically watching others succeed and others live moving forward, while you feel like you are sitting still. Uh, guilty! I felt like I had just been roasted via a third-party. Growing up, we all indirectly compare our achievements to others. We can barely pass a hard test, but someone else just passed the bar their first try. We can see others starting families, while we just finished the 13th season of Grey's Anatomy.

My 90s babies and younger, probably all have an effect of the obsessive comparison disorder. I didn't even think mine was that bad until I realized I was measuring my success by other people's timelines. While I am a self-aware person, since graduating college I've become aware in other ways. I'm aware of how I act, who I am, how I treat others, how my looks compare to others, how my body is compared to others, etc. Yet, I just started the job comparison. Where will I be in five years? Will I ever use my degree that I worked for four years for? (holla, if you know of a public relations job opening!) Do I even have a chance in my field? When will my opportunity come for the best job? All the questions seem the have the same answer: be still and be patient.

Does being patient and still mean not trying your hardest for a promotion? No. It means trying as much as you can but accepting when God says no to some opportunities. Some people will get their dream job when graduating from college, that's what they need. You may need to work your way up first. Getting impatient and falling into the comparison trap, doesn't help anyone. Put your faith and hope in God and he will guide you in the right direction. Don't let comparisons trap you from God's plan for you.

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