How to Stop Comparing Yourself to Others In 5 Steps

“Comparison is the thief of joy.” —Theodore Roosevelt

We all do it. We watch people and what they do, we flip through their Facebook albums and Instagram photos and we compare their experiences to our own lives. In today’s world where we’re constantly being told how to do our makeup, what to wear, and how to act, it’s not easy to stop comparing yourself to others or, rather, the projections we see everywhere.

Perhaps your coworker makes a higher salary than you, or maybe your brother bought a house that you’ve always dreamed of. These are some of the many situations where we might ask ourselves “why don’t I have that?”. Comparison is one of the most basic human habits that we all have fallen victim to a few times in our lives. Despite the fact that it makes us feel crummy, we tend to forget that we have the choice of whether or not we want to make ourselves happy.

Realistically, there’s an infinite number of ways and an infinite number of people that we can compare ourselves to. Although we all know that comparing ourselves to others isn’t beneficial in any way, it’s something that we all experience.

With that said, we wanted to highlight 5 easy steps to take in order to stop comparing yourself to others. Change the way you see things, and the things you see will change…

When you compare yourself to someone you’re dismissing all of the wonderful things about you that make you unique. At this point you’re setting yourself up to lose since you’re already at a disadvantage. Comparison puts light on the wrong person since it’s YOU who wants to do better for yourself. The next time you catch yourself in a negative thought, take note of just how foolish comparison is by nature and how much it deprives you of joy, then remember these easy tips on how to stop comparing yourself to others.

We’ve all met people who seem to have it all put together with such ease. They have a perfect smile, great hair, and almost seem to have a glowing aura around them at all times. It’s important to keep in mind that even the most confident of people have their weak spots, some people are just better at hiding their weaknesses than others. It doesn’t make anyone better than anyone else.

Are you naturally an amazing writer? Or a self-made master chef? Perhaps you’re a whiz at math, or maybe you went into overtime completing a project that landed you on your bosses radar for a promotion. Whatever it is, don’t forget to always celebrate every tiny victory. Reminding yourself of your own successes will not only push you to do better, it’ll leave you with less time to compare yourself with others.

Society’s idea of success completely dismisses the real keys to happiness in our lives, yet they’re all hidden in plain sight. Things like love, selflessness, and generosity can’t be quantified or measured, making them a better pursuit than any job title or pay raise. Desire them above anything else and you’ll see that it will be much easier to stick to your own path.

If you need to compare, compare to yourself. Look to something that inspires you and push yourself to grow a little bit every day. As we all navigate through the journey of our lives, the core of everything we do is the drive to become the best version of ourselves. Keep this in mind the next time you start comparing yourself to someone else. The only time you should look back is to see how far you’ve come.

Do you have any secrets on how to stop comparing yourself to others? We’d love to hear some of your own stories. Leave us your comments below!