The Trouble With Comparison
Aug 29, 2020
"Comparison is the thief of joy." -President Theodore Roosevelt
I’ve been having a similar conversation with a couple of my coaching clients recently. They are working on big life changes, and are discouraged with how long it is taking them to move from Point A to Point B.
And in the midst of their discouragement, they start comparing their journey to someone else’s.
Believe me when I say: that’s counter-productive, friends. Because you don’t know where someone else is in their own journey.
How do you know that the person you follow on social hasn’t been at it, and grinding away for years and years to enjoy the kind of success that they are enjoying? The same success that you are seeking now? You don’t.
It’s okay to look up to someone as an example of where you’re headed.
It’s okay to take advice from someone who’s been where you are and moved forward.
But it’s not okay to compare where you are to where they are and expect the same results when they started long before you.
Stop expecting to be perfect in the beginning.
Stop comparing your beginning to someone else’s middle.
Stop getting discouraged because you’re not farther along.
They’ve been at it a whole lot longer than you. Of course, their technique will be more polished. Their skills will be more developed. They will be probably look and sound more confident in their abilities, too.
That doesn’t mean you won’t get there. But you’re just starting out. You need the practice. You need to learn the lessons. You need to fail a little, and learn to redirect and try again.
You need to be patient with yourself. Extend yourself a little of the grace you so freely give to others.
Stick with it. Keep at it. You’re learning, and you’ll get there in due time.
And in the meantime, stop comparing yourself to others. You do you. Your measuring stick is yesterday’s you or last week’s you. Are you stronger than yesterday? Are you better than last week? Are you wiser than when you started?
Be satisfied with where you are and your own progress. And trust that you're moving in the right direction and you'll get where you're going...in due time.
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