Quote of the Week - Comparison

Is it just me or do you ever find that you are comparing yourself to others? One minute, you are perfectly fine being your own person doing your own thing, and the next, you are envying someone for what you don’t have or didn’t do.

As soon as I read this quote, I knew that I had to use it for my Quote of the Week. It is too good to pass up:

“Comparison is the thief of joy.”

                                                                                       -Theodore Roosevelt

Do you remember when you were little and you got a cool new doll or toy that you really wanted? Do you remember how happy you were? And then do you remember how you weren’t so happy anymore when you went to your friend’s house and they had a cooler, newer toy? This comparing doesn’t end when you grow up—in my opinion, it gets worse. 

Picture this: you get a brand new car and you are so excited about it. You love it and you are so happy with your decision. But then you look over at your neighbors driveway and start to compare their car to yours. Their's is nicer, their's is shinier, their's is better. And suddenly, you are robbed of the joy you had only seconds before.  

Not a car person? No problem. Imagine looking at yourself in the mirror and thinking, “I am really happy with the way I look. I’ve been working really hard at the gym, I love my new haircut, I like my makeup…” But then you go in to work that day and see someone who is thinner, “prettier,” has a cuter outfit, haircut, etc. That confidence and joy that you felt earlier completely vanished the second you began comparing yourself to someone else. 

So why do we do this to ourselves? Why do we compare ourselves with everyone else, even though we know that it will only take away our joy? It is no secret that society places a huge importance on looking a certain way and owning the “best” things. It is almost inevitable that we would eventually begin comparing ourselves to others. But it doesn't have to be that way.

If you focus on you and on the blessings in your life, and if you are content with yourself and what you have, then there is no need to look to others to stack your life up against. There is simply no point. And the odds are that the person you are comparing your life to is comparing their life to yours.

I realize that this is much easier said than done, but I challenge you to give it a try. Next time you make a decision about your life, try to be confident in it enough that, no matter what someone else has, or says, or does, your joy will not waver.