This is your reminder that everyone has their own path in life. You’re comparing yourself to people who have a completely different life than yours. Sure, you have some idea of successful habits—consistency, hard work, sacrifice—but there’s more.
There’s your personal blueprint. You are the only example of what it’s like to be you. Maybe it’s your style, personality, attention to detail, or voice. You have a mind that no one else will fully understand. Only you can bring certain things into creation. That’s why comparing yourself to anybody else is a waste of time.
Yes, you can have great admiration for a creative and their craft. Yes, you can look up to someone as a mentor. Yes, you can work off templates. Yes, you can look at what the experts have done. Yes, you can look at someone who’s living the life you want. In fact, you should learn from the people you think are the best. You should aim to be alongside them, not become them.
When you compare yourself to anything other than where you were yesterday, you lose focus. You get discouraged. You view your progress as slow instead of looking at how vital the little wins are.
This is your reminder that your past is not your shame story. Forgive yourself for your mistakes. It’s fuel, knowledge, and the firsthand experience used to help others. It’s the catalyst that allows you to do things that have never been done. You only need to stop looking at what everyone else is doing and how far they’ve come long enough to focus on yourself.
If you must compare yourself to someone, let it be to where you were yesterday.
This is your reminder that maybe it’s not more self-esteem you need but more self-compassion. Be kind to yourself by being realistic. You want to achieve a goal that took years to build in only a day. Before cultivating a skill, accessing money, or forming an audience, you need endurance. Without this, the rest doesn’t matter.
This is your reminder that if you genuinely believe you’re meant for something, it’s yours. We often think that we need to do more when we really need to be still. We need to focus, to keep going. We need to do what feels authentic to us, not what the crowd says is right.
Look at how far you’ve come. You need to put some respect on that. How dare you discredit the obstacles you’ve survived? Admire yourself as much as you do other people.
How dare you minimize the changes you’ve made to better your life? Achieving this takes courage and strength.
You’re the one that’s made it this far. You’re the one that’s fought for your life. Stop hating yourself long enough to realize that you have so much to offer.
When you compare yourself to anything other than where you were yesterday, you lose momentum. Instead of developing your craft, you give up. Instead of becoming, you become what other people want you to be. Your life is already yours. Despite what you think, it’s not better in the hands of somebody else.
Remember that people sacrifice their family, freedom, and mental health to get where they are now. Take your time. If you’re consistent, if you’re passionate, you’ll get there.
Compare yourself to where you were yesterday, not other people. You are the ultimate judge of what success is.
You keep track of your growth by writing down your wins, no matter how small. We focus so much on the things we don’t do that we overlook or altogether forget the things we do. We think that our mistakes are failures when they’re our most extraordinary drive. They catapult us into our purpose.
Drinking that one glass of water in the morning makes a difference. Sending that one email counts. Writing that first sentence is worth it. Saving those first dollars add up. Realizing you deserve more out of your relationship is the first step. No action is too insignificant. There’s a term we use in coaching that says, “small hinges move big doors”. It’s not the size of the action but the impact it creates.
You are impactful, no matter how you choose to show up. Compare yourself to where you were yesterday, not other people. With this, you’ll never go wrong.