Comparing ourselves to others is a common thing. It’s something we do every day, even if we don’t actively think about it. We compete with the people around us in every aspect of our lives, whether it be attractiveness, money, grades, or popularity. Although competition can be useful in some aspects, and can push us to do better, too much of anything can be a bad thing. The truth is that we don’t always understand the impact that these feelings of competition have on our lives, and in some ways, they can negatively persuade us into thinking that everything we do is only valuable if it is better than what someone else can do.

In reality, every single person is unique in his or her own way. There will never be another person who thinks, acts, and speaks exactly as you do. For this reason, there is also no one else who has your specific talents and does things the same way as you do. In any situation, whether it be academics, a work environment, or a sport, you bring something to the table that no one else could. Every time you compare yourself to another person, you are being unfair to yourself, as there is no way you can effectively measure your worth based on other people. For every thing that someone else can do better than you, there is also likely something that you can do better than them. Comparing ourselves to other people only results in a warped way of thinking, effectively making us lose sight of what makes us special as individuals.

Moreover, it can be hard to achieve our goals if we are spending all of our time stressing about where we stand in comparison to everyone else. Instead of thinking about other people, we could be devoting our time and energy into focusing on ourselves and our goals. Every second we spend consumed by anxiety over someone else being better at us at something, is another second we spend losing the potential to do bigger and better things. In the end, focusing on your own betterment is the best way to improve yourself.

When it comes down to it, true happiness comes from being comfortable in your own skin. When you are able to appreciate what makes you unique, and celebrate your flaws, everything else in life becomes easier. One of the most gratifying things you can do is to work on your self confidence, and to refuse to let other people define how you feel about yourself. You may be surprised by how differently you feel once you turn your attention to yourself, instead of letting how you compare to others define your worth.