Don’t be dragged down by thoughts of comparison! Comparison in the sense of seeing the results of others and judging myself, often negatively. I suppose its a fairly common thing to deal with but with most things like this, its a personal battle. Sometimes I share the battle with friends and loved ones, but mostly it’s me versus those negative thoughts.
I’m usually pretty good in realising when these thoughts start to arise and I can objectively put them aside, realise the folly in them and move on. However, sometimes I lack the sensitivity to see them gathering steam, or maybe the will to battle them isn’t in the tank. And so it can become a spiral, an unpleasant downward spiral where I feel the only way to get out of the funk is to sleep on it and awake with hopefully a fresh mind.
Be like a pilot and pull up
There are better ways to deal with this. I imagine that the best way to handle this is to create a habit in not letting the mind ‘indulge’. Intellectually, I know all the reasons against comparing myself to others and there’s a million memes and quotes to help me see the logic. But emotionally, there’s still some work to truly align my values so that the concept is barely a blip on my radar.
“You can’t connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backwards.” – Steve Jobs
Everyone is on their own journey, and much like each child progresses with basic things like walking, talking and reading at their own rate, adults too advance in their own unique way. What seems difficult now, will inevitably seem easy or straightforward in hindsight. However, to be in a position to have that view, we have to continue and push on, and have faith that the struggle will make sense. As Steve Jobs once said, “You can’t connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backwards”. The struggles of today will make sense tomorrow, so just bash on.
Letting your mind wander into such thoughts of “Why haven’t I achieved this when this other person has” is very much a reminder and lesson I spoke of here. Keep your mind focussed on what it needs to do now.
Comparing yourself to others is just your mind wandering to negative thoughts to protect yourself from failure and disappointment. Objectively see the foolishness of it, appreciate that you have your own journey to follow, and just bash on!
How have you battled these thoughts before?
If you enjoyed this post, like or click on the share buttons below.
1000 Miles, Screw It! 