Things To Consider When You Catch Yourself Comparing Yourself To Others
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What does it mean to compare?
To compare yourself to someone else simply means to allow someone else’s lifestyle or accomplishments to trigger insecurity. Although we are all guilty of measuring ourselves up to another person occasionally, the chronic comparisons can be extremely detrimental to one’s mental health and overall wellbeing.
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You’ll never be able to enjoy what you have
When you use someone else’s life and accomplishments as a yardstick to measure your worth, it’s virtually impossible to enjoy what you’ve been blessed with. There will always be someone else with a better car, larger home, bigger salary, more important position and so on.
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You’ll make loved ones uncomfortable
The thing about comparing yourself to others is that it is rarely confined to your innermost thoughts. One way or another, whether you’re vocal about them or not, your competing and comparing ways will spill over into your relationships and they’ve bound to make your loved ones uncomfortable.
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You’ll always be unhappy
It’s been said that comparison is the thief of joy. And it’s true, you’ll always be unhappy if you can’t manage to free yourself from the bondage of keeping up with the Jones’s.
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You’ll never feel adequate
Basing your self-worth and success on another person will keep your self-esteem in the toilet. This can be extremely detrimental to your mental health and this low self-esteem can wreck havoc in your personal and professional life.
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Focus on self-improvement
Instead of looking to others to quantify your success, focus on self-improvement. Remind yourself that the only person with whom you’re competing is the person you see when you look into the mirror. If you set out each day with the intention of being better than you were the day before, you’ll never lose.
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Remember that not everything is as it appears
The grass is not always greener on the other side. Just because someone else’s life appears better on the surface, that doesn’t have to be the case. We all have our struggles and shortcomings. Further, some people are really good at broadcasting their highs and camouflaging their lows.
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Gratitude exercises
Another way to stop comparisonitis in its tracks is to practice gratitude exercises. Gratitude exercises are small activities that you can do each day that can help you to count your blessings and show appreciation for all of the things that are going right in your life. The activities can be reflective and internal ones, such as making a gratuity list. They can also be external tasks such as setting a goal of giving a thoughtful thanks to one person per day.
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Give back
Another way to get out of your head and learn to appreciate what you have is to get into the habit of giving. Researchers have found that acts of generosity have been linked to long-term happiness and overall wellbeing. Better, scientists found that regardless of whether you give a little or a lot, giving has the same effect.
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Do a social media detox
Technological advancement and social networking apps such as Instagram and Facebook have been found to have serious side effects in regard to the way people see themselves. Oftentimes, people curate their social media feeds to portray lifestyles that appear picture perfect. For this reason, it can be helpful to schedule a social media detox from time to time.
