I just received some great news yesterday. Two of my cousins are about to go on different journeys – building a family and getting married. I feel so happy for them and at the same time, a little sad for myself. I can’t help but compare myself to other people. I wrote a couple of articles about deciding where I want to be and not letting other people’s successes define what paths should I take. Yet, sometimes, it’s difficult to do it, especially if you can see their posts online at every milestone in their lives.
One of the reasons why I have decided to take a break from social media is because it makes me feel insecure and it’s not a good thing for me mentally and emotionally. I have tried to turn them into a motivation but it was a struggle for me. I feel like I was forcing myself to do things I don’t want to do just to keep up with them and I don’t like that feeling. No one likes that feeling.
For those people who feel the same way, here are the reasons why you shouldn’t compare yourself to others.
It takes away your hope.
When you compare yourself to others, the chances of being hopeful in any circumstances are little. There may be some times when you hope for better days to come but when you see others having the best days of their lives, you start to feel hopeless. Rather than keeping an eye on others’ wins, celebrate your small achievements while waiting for bigger success to come. After all, small progress is still progress.
In the past, the feeling of hopelessness eats me inside. My life was so ruined because of that feeling and that ruins my well-being. I’ve learned to accept the fact that people didn’t get the good things they have because of luck. They started from the bottom as well and that should serve as my motivation to continue reaching my dreams.
It shifts your focus.
Others achievements can make you lose focus on your own goals and that could make you feel hopeless to move forward. When you start to feel down, there’s a huge tendency for you to lose focus on reaching your own goals. You’ll get stuck. When that happens, you’ll lose the drive to work on making your dreams into reality. This is one of the reasons why you shouldn’t compare yourself to others. Focus on yourself, not on others because it won’t take you anywhere.
Social media has a massive effect on me mentally. I managed to quit using them because it wastes my time scrolling all day long when I know I have things to do. Things that will help me succeed in life. I’m happy for other people’s accomplishments, yes. But they shift my focus on them and that sucks. Today, I’m now more aware of things that could potentially take me to my success and ignore those things that don’t.
It makes you feel like a loser.
Life isn’t a race. Keep in mind that every people have time to shine. It may take some time for your limelight to arrive, don’t let it stop you from bettering yourself. Everyone is a working progress, even the successful ones. If they don’t stop striving, why should you?
I always remind myself that maybe God isn’t satisfied yet with my efforts and hard work for Him to grant my success. I may need to exert extra to be ready for the great blessings that await me. I’m not a religious person but I believe in God and His ways. I don’t believe in miracles as well but I believe in His works.
Thank you so much for reading!
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