One thing that irks me to no end is people who continually compare themselves to others. In high school, I knew of people that would always ask others after receiving scores for tests or papers "What did you get?" The people that would ask that question knew they had done exceptionally well compared to the rest of the class and just wanted to gloat. They never asked how others did if they themselves performed poorly. I hated this.

Whether in academics, or sports, or the performing arts, I wanted to focus on only myself. However, I started comparing myself to others in high school. If I didn't place well at a swim meet, I would think that I was a terrible swimmer. If I didn't perform as well on a test as my friends, I would think that I was stupid. It truly affected my self-esteem. I was comparing myself to others when I should have completely focused on myself.

Looking back, on it, I realize that I shouldn't have cared so much how I compared to others.

Everyone is unique, so performance and learning shouldn't be the same. Sometimes I blew off studying for an exam and still aced it. Other times, I spent hours upon hours studying and still didn't quite get the grade I wanted. I now know that I should've been proud of whether or not I tried. If you try your best, at least you know that you did the best that you could do. Maybe you didn't do as well as your friends, but that shouldn't matter. Some people are great at math, while others are great at English. Everyone has their niche in life.

Focus on what you're doing, and not what anyone else is doing. If you studied your butt off for that test and got a B, don't be discouraged. You did your best, and you should be proud of yourself. If you didn't study at all and got an A-, then you shouldn't be satisfied, because you didn't try your best. In high school, I forgot this and was beating myself up, thinking that I should be better just because others were.

Comparing yourself to others will only frustrate you. People have different things that they're good at, and everyone moves at their own pace in life. Maybe you took five years instead of four to graduate from college. That shouldn't matter, because you still got that degree and you'll get a job. Everything will work out if you try your best, so you shouldn't be bothered by anyone else.

Set your own goals and work towards them. If you focus on yourself and try your best, you'll be much happier.