“Stop comparing yourself to others!” Chance are excellent you’ve heard this advice more than once before. It might have been a parent, coach, a teacher, or even a friend. Okay, we all know this is true. Comparing yourself to others will inevitably lead to disappointment. But, we all fall into this trap and it isn’t helpful. So, how do you resist the feeling in the first place? Let’s take a look at how you can effectively stop comparing yourself to others.
If You Keep Comparing Yourself to Others, You’re Standing in the Way of Success
Before we get into the logistics, we’ll take a peek into what this actually does — it prevents you from succeeding. That’s right. Think about it. If you’re always comparing yourself to others, you keep moving the goal post.
Comparing yourself to others’ accomplishments is a losing battle. There is an endless supply of people to whom you could compare yourself and your accomplishments, but, inevitably, you’ll always end up on the losing side of the comparison. That’s because there will always be someone who has done something that you wished you could also accomplish. —Forbes.com
And, we all know what that means. So, doing this is essentially self-defeating. You can’t reach the goal if you keep moving it further away. It’s really that simple. Yet, it’s difficult to resist the urge because we all want to accomplish more.
How to Stop Comparing Yourself to Others
Now, how do you stop comparing yourself to others? Sure, it sounds easy but it isn’t. Fortunately, there are ways to beat back the impulse:
- Practice getting over your FOMO urge. FOMO or fear of missing out. It’s a good portion of what drives the success of social media giants like Facebook. People are always measuring their own lives up against others on social media. Take a break. For instance, don’t check social media for an entire weekend. Or, make your evenings social media free.
- Look for commonalities, not differences. Instead of comparing yourself based on differences, try identifying commonalities. It will give you a level of reassurance, at the very least. It will also tell you that you are incumbents in some ways and boost your confidence.
- Take a long, mindful trip down memory lane. One of the best ways not to compare yourself to others is to compare yourself to yourself. That’s right. The you of today is likely a great improvement of the you of the past.
- Understand what you can and cannot change. Another way to stop comparing yourself to others is to understand and accept there are things you can change and things you cannot change. Doing so will certainly help you contextualize.
What other methods would you recommend to stop comparing yourself to others? Please share your thoughts and experience by commenting!
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