A lot of people are caught in the web of comparison at some points in their life. People compare their achievements, their appearance, financial status, relationships, career, skills, lifestyle, etc, with other people's own. It is true that comparison can provide motivation, but constant comparison often comes with hidden costs that can damage one's confidence, happiness, and even their personal growth. What a lot of people do not know is that the amount of energy they waste trying to compare themselves with others can be channelled into improving themselves and becoming a better version of themselves.
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A story was told of two friends who graduated the same time. Then one of them secured a job in a blue chip company and was constantly sharing his achievements online. Then the other friend began to compare his life with that of his friend and this made him very discouraged, and he thought that his life was not making progress. This made him unhappy and instead of focusing on building himself and developing his skills so that he will become more productive, he was constantly looking at what he lacked. This also made him not to appreciate what he had and it stalled his progress.
After a while, he realised that comparison was what was robbing him of his happiness, but much more than that, it was also affecting his confidence negatively. This was when he stopped comparing himself with his friend, and stopped measuring his life against the achievements of his friends. When he made this decision, he started focusing on himself and on his goals. When he concentrated on his personal goals, he became more productive, he became more contented with life, and then he started to achieve significant success. You see, his progress began when he stopped comparing his life's journey with that of his friend and started focusing on his own.
One of the biggest costs of comparison is lack of contentment. When someone starts to compare themself with others, they will tend to overlook the blessings they have and the progress they are making. Instead of appreciating how far they have gone and what they have achieved, they will be focused on what they have not achieved yet. This has a way of creating dissatisfaction even when they have so many reasons to be grateful. What they failed to understand is that what they have now, and where they are is someone else's heart desire. Imagine achieving something significant, yet you do not take notice of it because someone else is perceived to be doing better than you. The same person you compare with might also have some areas of weakness that you do not know about.
Comparison also has a way of reducing someone's confidence. Everyone has their own unique journey, their strengths and weaknesses. Now imagine comparing your weakness with the strength that you see in another person, you may live your life believing that you are not doing well. This can also affect your confidence negatively. What you should understand is that, just as you have strengths and weaknesses, others also have. So when you compare, you may only be limited to what you see in them, but what about the things that you know nothing about? This is why you need to focus on your own journey and keep improving to become better.
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Comparison can also create distractions and steal someone's focus. As a matter of fact, when someone constantly compares, they will lose sight of opportunities that are around them. When people become too obsessed with what other people are doing, they will neglect their goal and will find it difficult to develop. Instead of focusing on their personal goals, they will waste their time measuring themselves with others. Imagine someone trying to drive forward in his car but constantly looking back at others. It will make him to lose focus of where he is going to, and will also make him to lose speed and direction. In the same in life, focusing so much on what others are doing, will make you to focus less on your goals.
It is worthy to note that personal growth requires you to focus on improvement and not on comparison. But if you must compare, then the best and most profitable comparison is comparing who you are now with who you were yesterday. This will help you to know if you are making progress or not.
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