A Few Ways To Stop Comparing Yourself To Everyone Else

If there is anything I do know for sure it's that comparison is the thief of joy. It steals everything away from you, leaves you feeling miserable and downtrodden and it's something that's so easy to do to yourself and it's probably a trap that we all fall into. Something I've worked really hard on over the past few years is to stop comparing myself to everyone else because it was making me seriously miserable and here are a few ways that I broke out of the habit.

CONSUME CAREFULLY

For me, the main source of my comparisons was what I was seeing on social media and it's so easy to do. We all consume social media on a daily basis, passive or not it's still flooding our brain constantly. Social media is part of my blog and therefore part of my job so I can't avoid it entirely but something I do have the choice of is who I follow and that's something that's so easy to forget. We have complete control of what we consume online and have the decision whether we're going to follow something that makes us feel mediocre and rubbish or follow something that inspires us and makes us feel awesome. I love to follow people who post beautiful carefully curated content but aren't afraid to say something isn't working out and having that balance is so important as breaks down those glossy social media barriers.

WE ALL HAVE OUR OWN PATHS

When you're at school and college we're all generally on the same path to the same destination. But in adult life, we're all on completely different paths and that's awesome because when you interact with others it gives you an insight into how other people are doing. There is no one way to do life, even though it might feel that way but there really isn't and just because someone you love is living their life one way doesn't mean you have to follow suit.

DON'T RELY ON OTHER PEOPLES APPROVAL

I think we all enjoy getting praise and approval from other people. But relying on it constantly to know you're doing ok is a dangerous habit of falling in to. I know in the past I would always rely on other people to tell me something was good to feel happy about it. And it can be hard to give praise to yourself when it feels almost unnatural as we worry about being arrogant or big headed but that's not the case at all. We're allowed to be proud of ourselves and our achievements and it can help boost our confidence.

HAVE FAITH IN YOURSELF

Something that's pretty odd in our society is that so often we will trust a complete strangers opinion over our own. Having faith in yourself and your decisions is hard and it's so easy to constantly doubt yourself and worry constantly that you're not making the right decision or choice. And it feels so easy to let your doubts and worries cloud your judgement and hold you back but when something feels right in your gut then it's probably the right choice for you. Having someone else's input when it comes to making decisions is great as it gives you a broader insight but there is no-one who knows what's best for you more than yourself.

DON'T LET OTHER PEOPLES SUCCESSES CLOUD YOURS

When you see people constantly sharing and celebrating their successes online it can so easily to let it cloud what you're achieving or trying to get to. I used to be so terrible for downplaying every single thing I achieved because someone online was always doing better than I was. But we can't all achieve the exact same thing as everyone else, it's just not feasible. What we define as a success is all personal to us, some people might deem making 6 figures a year as a success and to some, it might be seeking joy in each day. Seeking out your own definition and realising the only person you're in competition with is yourself is something that's really helped me stop downplaying my achievements no matter how big or small they are.