How To Stop Comparing Yourself With Others?

“Stop comparing yourself to other people: you are an original. We are all different and it’s okay.” – Joyce Meyer.

You must have been advised a million times to not compare yourself to others. But, do you listen to them? I think it’s easier said than done. I have asked many people not to compare themselves with others but many times I’ve found myself dwelling in the wrath of comparison.

Have you ever noticed that many people, especially educators use comparison as a form of motivation? Sometimes it might work but in most cases, the comparison is not motivating but builds on the feeling of worthlessness.

Parents comparing their children with other kids, people comparing their partners with other people’s partners, comparing each other’s financial status, etc are all toxic thoughts. Comparison has never brought any good to anyone, it’s time we STOP comparing ourselves with other people.

You ask why?

“Why should I stop comparing myself to others?”

Comparison brings a lot of negative thoughts and beliefs with it. When you start comparing yourself to others, you’re not only undermining your achievements, but you’re also damaging your self-image and self-esteem.

Comparing yourself to others can make you develop toxic feelings for others. It makes you a better person because comparison never ends. You will always find one person who is better than you, for how long will you fight the comparisons that you build in your head?

Comparison drains your emotionally and intellectually. Constant comparison with others can make you feel like you’re not good enough. It can give rise to burnout, eventually deteriorating your abilities.

If feelings of frustration, anger & jealousy caused by comparison are not addressed properly they can have huge consequences. The effects of comparison can give rise to mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, etc.

Have you ever wondered why you started comparing yourself to others in the first place?

Why Am I Constantly Comparing Myself to Others?

Comparison is healthy only when you compare your progress. However, instead of comparing how far we’ve come, we’ve started comparing ourselves to other people’s journeys. The idea of comparison is usually implanted in childhood.

When a child is constantly compared with siblings or other children, they learn that comparison is the only way to measure progress. You can give in to toxic comparisons also when you have feelings of insecurity, low self-worth, and jealousy. We compare ourselves with others only about those qualities that we think we lack.

And social media has a huge role to play here. The internet has given us access to several people’s lives. What we fail to realize is that we are looking at them through a filter. Face value is not always the true value.

Anyway, the point I am trying to make is that you have to learn to stop comparing yourself to others at work, school/college, online, etc. If you don’t stop comparing yourself to others, you’ll only end up messing up your own life.

If you’re ready to stop comparing yourself to others, here’s what you’re supposed to do…

Effective Ways To Stop Comparing Yourself With Others

1. Recognize your root cause: there is obviously something that makes you uncomfortable. Is it your low self-esteem issues or you’re comparing yourself to others out of jealousy? Find out the root cause so that you can work on resolving that issue.

2. Be grateful: gratitude is something that can really help you deal with the negative consequences of comparison. Practice gratitude regularly, and be thankful for what you have and how far you have come. You can also try gratitude journaling.

3. Practice contentment: if you are content with your life and your achievements, you will automatically stop comparing yourself to others. Having gratitude and being content goes hand in hand. When you start practicing gratitude, contentment will follow.

4. Don’t compare your life with social media posts: that’s the worst time you can do for yourself. Most people only share happy and proud moments online, doesn’t mean they don’t have bad days. Don’t compare yourself to a trending reel.

5. Acknowledge your strengths: one of the worst things that comparison does is highlights your shortcomings. To counter that you need to start focusing on your strengths. Every night before you go to bed, write 3 things you did that you are proud of.

6. Learn to celebrate others’ achievements: we all have different strengths and weaknesses, therefore, achievements and success are also going to be different. Comparing your success with someone else is completely wrong. You should rather celebrate others’ achievements and let them be a part of yours.

7. Complete with yourself rather than others: instead of trying to be better than others, try to be better than yourself. Each day you should focus on how you can improve yourself rather than focusing on how you can defeat someone else.

That’s All Folks!

I hope you found this blog helpful and thought-provoking. I’m sure you know how comparing yourself to others is making you a negative person. Learn to stop comparing yourself to others because it manifests into severe mental health conditions.

Thanks for reading.

Take care and stay safe.