By Alicia • 7 Comments
There are certain situations when you may be tempted to compare yourself to others. It is a temptation for everyone to compare themselves at times but it isn’t a good thing to do. Comparing yourself only makes you feel bad. These are seven situations when you find yourself tempted to compare yourself to others and what you can do instead.
You may be tempted to compare yourself to others when you have a friend that loses a lot of weight. It can make you feel badly about your own weight. Don’t let that comparison make you feel badly. Use that as motivation to kick start your own weight loss, if that is an issue in your life. Choose to see your friend’s weight loss as inspiring, not as a comparison that makes you feel bad.
It can make you feel tempted to compare yourself to others when you know someone has more money than you do. This won’t do anything but make you feel bad. Choose to reflect on the fact that finances change and you don’t know what the future holds. You may be in a better financial state in times to come than you are right now. Think about things you can do to change your current financial status instead of getting wrapped up in comparisons.
It is tough when you get passed up for a promotion. It can feel like a personal insult even if it isn’t at all. Instead of comparing yourself to the person that got the promotion and making yourself feel awful, talk to your supervisor. Ask them what you can do to improve your chances of a promotion the next time an opportunity comes along. Choose to see the future with a positive outlook instead of getting caught up in the present, comparing yourself to someone else.
It can be really difficult to deal with when your ex gets a new girl. You see them together and it can just make you feel awful. It is very, very tempting to compare yourself to her, to think about what she has that you don’t. Don’t go there. Your ex is your ex for a reason. Even if he is the one that split up with you, that just means that he couldn’t see the value he had in you.
It is so tempting to compare yourself to other parents when you feel you aren’t a good parent or are having a day when you don't feel like a good parent. Can you tell this one is one I have struggled with? I have and here is what I have learned. Just like all children are different, all parents are different. As long as I am being the best mother that I can be and my children are happy, healthy and well-cared for, I need to cut myself some slack. You should do the same thing.
It can be very tempting to compare yourself to others when your parent plays favorites. In this situation, you may be tempted to compare yourself to your siblings. The fact is that even if your sibling is more successful or was a better-behaved child than you were, the issue is still not yours. If there is true favoritism, it is your parent’s issue. Let them be the one to live with that. You need to just go on with your life.
In any given situation, you may feel temptation to compare yourself to others when you feel you don’t measure up. The truth is that everyone can all make improvements in themselves, including the person you are comparing yourself to. However, comparing ourselves to others is not a healthy choice. Comparing ourselves suggests that we feel we are lacking in some way. It is better to make the choice to let differences motivate you to do and be better.
These are seven situations when you may be tempted to compare yourself. When are you most tempted to compare yourself to others? What helps bring you out of that funk?