Comparing yourself to others = the perfect recipe for unhappiness. Have you ever noticed that our world is built on polarity? There are always two opposing poles: inside and outside, up and down, thick and thin – and so on. This means that the only way to realize you are poor is by meeting someone who is rich. Are you living your life, or are you still comparing yourself to others?
Comparing yourself to other people or things like jobs, cars, houses, or relationships has a downside. Of course, on the one hand, it can motivate you to achieve the same. But my question is: How do you know that the things someone else has will truly make you happy? Let me give you two questions to reflect on this week:
- What does success mean to you?
- What does happiness mean to you?
Until you have clear answers to these questions for yourself, you will keep comparing yourself to others and chasing after their lives. You’ll hope that once you own a car from a certain brand or hold a specific job title, you will feel successful. But who says your brain actually needs that car to feel accomplished? That’s why it’s so important to define for yourself what “success” and “happiness” truly mean.
Let’s take it one step further: Your attitude toward something is a product of your beliefs. Your life is what you think it should be. You are today what you believed you were yesterday. And if you don’t like who you are, you need to change what you want to be. The secret to personal growth lies in your own belief system.
Find out what your belief system says about key concepts like “success,” “happiness,” “health,” and “relationships.” What do these words mean to you in detail? How will you know that you’ve fulfilled them? Create a detailed list, and you’ll be surprised how little you sometimes need to be happy. Perhaps until now, you thought you could only be happy after achieving a certain job title or possession.
Start getting to know yourself better. The better you know yourself; the easier and simpler life will become – and the more joy and fun you’ll have living it. And that will be your own life, without constantly comparing yourself to others.
