What Stories Are You Invested in Keeping? #49
When I looked up quotes on comparison, I wasn’t surprised to find they were all negative. Here are a few of them:
“Comparison is an act of violence against the self.” Iyanla Vanzant
“Comparison is the thief of joy.” Theodore Roosevelt
“Happiness is found when you stop comparing yourself to other people.” Anonymous
“Comparison is the death of peace and well-being.” Anonymous
“Comparison kills creativity and joy.” Brene Brown
“Comparison is a slippery slope to jealousy.” Danielle LaPorte
So why do we do it then? It’s a guaranteed trip to some negative experience, yet we all do it. It reinforces all the lack we believe, the deficits, the things we could be better at and worry other people know.
There are those who use it to fuel their competitive juices; if we are better then others, it means something, something which comforts a lack temporarily. For a moment, we are “better than.”
The truth of the matter is that we can always find evidence observing others to validate our story. Whether it forwards or limits us, comparison is a way to justify some story we have that we are invested in keeping.
Even your best today compared with yesterday isn’t fair. You can’t change the past and will never live the same day twice. If you are interested in challenging yourself in a healthy way with comparison, try comparing your best today with your best tomorrow – let it guide you into possibility and creation.