How To Stop Comparing Yourself To Others

In today’s world, it is hard to be on social media and not compare yourself with others. Social media bombards us with carefully curated snapshots of other people’s lives, achievements, and seemingly endless successes. We make endless comparisons like, “I wish I looked pretty like her”, “I wish I could dress like her”, “I wish I could travel like them”, or “I wish my wardrobe was trendy like hers”. It’s hard to stop comparing when you have 24/7 access to view the best parts of everyone else’s lives right on your phone.

Even though most of us try not to, we’re all guilty of comparing ourselves to others. This constant comparison can affect our self-esteem, mental health, and overall happiness.

The constant thought of comparing is unconscious and when comparing we lose our money and mental peace just trying to keep up with them!

Comparing our lives with the oh-so-wonderful lives of other people is a game we will never win.

In this blog post, we’ll explore some strategies to help you stop comparing yourself to others and start embracing your individuality. But before that let’s understand whether comparison affects our lives or not.

Does Comparison Affect My Life?

Firstly ask yourself if comparison affects your life or not and whether comparing yourself is a problem for you. These questions can help you reflect on how comparison affects various aspects of your life:

1. In what areas of my life do I find myself frequently comparing myself to others?
2. How does the habit of comparison make me feel on a daily basis?
3. Have I noticed any changes in my self-esteem or self-worth due to comparison?
4. Do I think comparison has influenced my decision-making, especially in terms of goals and aspirations?
5. How has comparison affected my relationships with friends and family?
6. Have I experienced jealousy or resentment as a result of comparing myself?
7. Do you frequently check how many likes or comments you have received on Instagram?

Answering these questions will help you understand how comparing yourself to others affects you and your life. There is no guilt in comparing yourself to others; it is a natural human urge to compare one’s life to the lives of others.

If comparing impacts your mental state, you must be cautious and find solutions to overcome this habit.

6 Ways To Stop Comparing Yourself To Others

Don’t Compare Your Life To The Lives Of Others

Whatever you see on Instagram is actually just the highlighted reel or picture of one’s life. Nobody posts the sad parts of their lives so what we perceive is not always true. And boom! hits the reality.

Social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram create a sense of insecurity and constant comparing tendencies.

This not only ruins your mental health but also affects you financially, as you tend to overspend on your monthly expenses to keep up with someone else’s life.

Even if you try to compare your life to someone else’s, use it as inspiration to work more and go forward in life. You can also replicate their path of success.

Only you can make your life beautiful when you shift your focus away from other people’s reel fantastic lives.

Limit Triggers

Identify the triggers that make you vulnerable to playing the game of comparison. It can be your friends, social media platforms, certain people, or certain situations. Once you’ve identified the triggers, start working towards limiting the use or exposure to it.

If you find yourself constantly comparing yourself with your close ones, initiate healthy ways to engage with them.

Doing this will eventually help you ease the insecurities that you’ve built when you are around them.

If scrolling through social media or following certain people stimulates your insecurities or amps up your game of comparison then it’s high time that you unfollow them or limit the use of these platforms.

Be Content

Be content and satisfied with who you are and what you are doing. This satisfaction and contentment will only arise when you practice gratitude towards everything.

Now being satisfied doesn’t mean not having any goals in life or just sitting and not doing anything exciting in life.

It is basically making peace with oneself, making peace with what you have and how you are. Learning to love yourself as you are and also uplift yourself for the betterment.

Learn To Compete With Yourself

The more we compare ourselves with others, the worse we feel about ourselves.

Don’t focus on comparing yourself to others or on things we are compared to, instead focus on your goals.

Channelize your energy and obsession in achieving the goals that you have set. You are your biggest competitor. Compete with yourself.

Ask yourself “Where are you compared to where you were this time last year? or where you were 5 years ago?“

In the past years, a lot has happened you’ve learned, improved, accomplished, and grown out of every situation. You have achieved a lot over the years and this indeed is a healthy competition with yourself.

Celebrate Yourself And Other People

Constantly comparing oneself to others causes sadness and, at times, jealousy. It also makes us dissatisfied with other people’s success and achievements, which leads to us not cheering up our friends and family. This mindset is frequently exemplified by our attitude and behavior.

Here’s what you can do, be happy when your friend tells you about a new job, show enthusiasm when your friend or family buys a new house, be happy when someone has the perfect relationship, or compliment when someone looks beautiful.

When someone tells you something great about them, be focussed on their success and accomplishments and don’t divert the attention on you. Find small things to be happy and celebrate other people’s achievements.

And don’t forget to celebrate yourself too. Celebrate every small goal you’ve achieved. Keep a journal to track your progress and achievements. Recognizing your personal growth will boost your self-esteem and confidence and also abstain you from external comparisons.

Focus On Your Strengths

Remember that no one’s life is as flawless as it may seem on social media or in passing conversations. Everyone faces challenges, setbacks, and moments of self-doubt.

When you find yourself comparing, remind yourself that you are only seeing a small fraction of someone’s life.

Recognize your strengths, talents, and accomplishments. Be humble enough to identify them and work on amping up your game.

Remember that you are a unique individual with your own set of talents, experiences, and perspectives. Embrace your uniqueness and the value it brings to your life and the lives of those around you.

Conclusion

Finally, unconsciously we often compare ourselves with others. Remember that everyone has their own path, and life is not a competition.

Embrace your individuality, celebrate your successes, and be patient with yourself as you work on letting go of the habit of comparison.

Over time, these strategies can help you build greater self-esteem and a more positive outlook on your own journey.

The only person you should be comparing to is yourself. If you want to overcome comparing you can adopt different strategies discussed above or you can also start journalling and pen down your thoughts every night before sleeping. Believe me, journaling will definitely work in maintaining a sane mind. Read more