In 2013, this image from the internet ripped away from my heart. I was unhappy. I’d been complaining and comparing all my life but after seeing this, I’d to introspect a lot. I found that social comparison is one of the main culprits that was taking away my happiness.
But can we distance ourselves from social comparison?
It’s a huge question. It’s easier said than done. The social comparison game is as old as humanity.
Some mental health experts believe that our wish to compare ourselves to others is an ambition — one almost as powerful as thirst or hunger. While comparisons can be educational, they’re nearly always discouraging, because someone’s always going to end up on the lowest.
It’s said that comparison is a thief of joy.
Comparing yourself to others can be the most self-limiting and useless thing you can do. It’s the core source of your biggest uncertainties and stops the kind of self-worth and self-esteem that’s the root real success — authentic happiness.
Behind the need to compare yourself to others is a distorted sense of self-worth based on a false definition of success that you never made but rather followed blindly what the society said.
The society isn’t always right.
It’s simple logic. No two beings are the same.
We all are unique and have different challenges and opportunities in life. Everyone’s good at something or the other. There’ll always be someone who is different from you and if you start reacting to them, you’ll never be in joy.
I’ve seen people finding joy in different things. A money-rich child may find joy with expensive electronic toys while a money-poor may find joy in playing in the mud.
It’s all in the mind.
Also when you use comparative or superlative words like BEST or BETTER, you’re comparing, and now you know it’s dangerous. Keep away from using such language — just GOOD is enough.
In a nutshell, comparing yourself to others is one of the most baseless things you can do as you set out to create the success you intend. It sets you up for mediocrity rather than real success, it drains you of your authentic inner power and it demolishes the creative power of your thoughts.
