I think anytime we start a new year, we do the same thing – we take stock of where we are, how far we’ve come, and what we want for the future. Then comes in the comparison. Where is everyone else? Where are they heading? How do I compare to them?
I recently posted an instagram from a quote from Jon Acuff:
“Don’t compare your beginning, to someone else’s middle.” – Jon Acuff
It got a lot of likes from yall. Which leads me to believe we all do this, and we all know we shouldn’t. When we compare, it’s completely unfair to ourselves. We aren’t comparing apples to apples, and we are pretending like we are. I don’t think there is a problem with a bit of healthy competition – but we take it so much further. The trouble with comparison is that it is like a thorn. It starts simple enough, and starts bugging us, bothering us, and getting worse. It soon becomes so bad that it has morphed our sense of ourselves. We now see ourselves through a false set of eyes. We are lying to ourselves about our worth by comparing ourselves to someone else. We are also lying to ourselves if we think someone else’s path is BETTER than our own.
Let me say something refreshing for a moment –
It doesn’t MATTER how you compare to someone ELSE. It really doesn’t. All that matters is how you compare to YOURSELF.
The only way to compare apples to apples it to compare our present selves with our past selves. How does past ME compare with now ME? How can I make future ME even better?
It’s silly to think we should follow someone else’s path. Our lives are so complex – we need to realize WE are more complex than that. WE are different than THEM.
You have been created to be completely unique. There truly is no one else out there like you. Really. So there will be NO other path like yours. The real success comes in being true to yourself, and to stop comparing.
Once we stop comparing to others, we can start to create our own path:
- What are YOUR goals?
- What are YOUR passions?
- What works for YOU?
- How do YOU learn best?
- How do YOU create best?
Once you focus on yourself and being you – and not anyone else – the thorn is removed and you are free to soar to be the BEST you.
Let’s stop comparing our ANYTHING to anyone else’s ANYTHING. Let’s be us and let’s be awesome because of it.
Need help in customizing your path and being true to yourself for 2014? I’ll be opening registration tomorrow for the Design Life Project e-course. Our last session was nothing short of AMAZING and I’m so excited for the New Year’s edition of this course. We are going to have a wonderful 5 weeks together and we are going to grow SO much! Make sure you’re signed up for the newsletter (sign up in the sidebar on the left to be reminded when registration opens TOMORROW, January 15th) and you can snag your spot!
