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Comparison Is the Thief of Joy: How to Stop
When you were young, your parents probably compared you to a sibling or your cousin or your friend.
When you started school, the teachers started giving you grades. It helped you see where you rank amongst your friends in math, science, languages, etc. You felt the same comparison in sports, music, arts, and playground.
When you were in school, your parents probably bragged about your A’s or scolded you for C’s.
The game continues as an adult. At work, you got a performance review. You got a slight raise or promotion. They gave you a status upgrade with a title.
When I had my first baby, I also fell into the comparison game with her. When we met with other parents, we compared who smiled first, who sat upright first, and who took their first steps the quickest. I had to slap myself out of it.
Comparison kills joy and leads to envy.
At some point, like everyone else, you felt envious of others who did better than you. Envy usually turns into anger, jealousy, insecurity, and ultimately low self-esteem. These negative emotions lead to an unhappy life.
The opposite of comparison to others is doing your best. You can even take it further by comparing yourself to your old self from 1 year, 5 years or even 10 years ago.
