Picture from Hitchster
If you compare yourself to others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
-Max Ehrmann
I caught myself losing focus of my purpose – inspiring others to make a difference in their lives physically, mentally, and spiritually. This happens from time to time and I’m totally aware of it.
I get caught up in the day-to-day grind and find myself stuck in a routine. Then I start thinking about what other people are doing, what they have that I don’t, or why some are accomplishing more than I am in such a short amount of time. I lead myself down a road of frustration which to me doesn’t make sense. But I believe everyone does this to themselves at some point in time.
We can get distracted by comparing ourselves with others. We may wonder:
- Why can’t I lose the weight?
- How can that person make more than I do? I work harder.
- Why can’t I be more popular like them?
- I wish I had their body.
The list can continue on. Maybe more questions and statements are happening in your mind right now.
It’s essential to get into the right mindset. We can’t become distracted by competition with others. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a competitive person. I don’t understand the thought process behind kids’ sports that don’t keep score because everyone is a winner. In real life there is always a winner and loser.
But the main person we must compete against is ourselves. If you don’t achieve your goals or find yourself living out your passion, there is only one person you can blame.
Yourself.
For a long time I’ve pointed fingers and blamed circumstance for my so called shortcomings but in all reality it was my perception of the situation. I was distracted by what was going on in my external world that my internal world became a distant place.
It wasn’t until I understood the consequences of constantly comparing myself with other people. No matter how much you want something, you will always come across someone who already has it or who is closer to accomplishing the goal than you are. Don’t worry about them. You need to focus on yourself and your purpose. When you compare yourself with others, you are going to find yourself in discouragement and frustration.
Not any more. Get your focus back on the right path and realize that you have so much to offer the world. You can’t waste your time and energy worrying about what other people are doing. Direct your energy towards what you want out of yourself. Constantly focusing on the competition you have with others can cause you to miss opportunities. You can become so fixated on what others are doing that you lose sight of what you should be doing.
This is still a thought I’ve been tossing around in my head. What do you think? Does comparing yourself with others motivate you or does it create discouragement and frustration? I’d be really interested in hearing your thoughts.
Hey Daniel this post is exactly what I needed to read and adhere to. I am in a situation where I am comparing myself to this individual who is doing so well and is respected that I am sizing myself up to this individual, thinking: I want to be better, I want that success, I want this and that like him! etc. It’s frustrating Daniel. It demotivates me as I am caught up in that whirlwind and I begin to feel jealous. Which is not a good thing. Like you said, I need to bring back that focus on myself and worry about ME. And so do you. You are doing extremely well! REALLY! You are helping people realise their potential, their goal, their self worth, and that we should all keep calm and live aloha. Mahalo for this post. This is a big boost for me and I will remember this post throughout my day!!!!
Aloha Anastasia. I’m extremely happy this helped you out. I also need a reminder every now in then to focus on what I need to do. I really appreciate your kind words and continuing support. Hope you have a great weekend and continue to give Aloha. Aren’t you heading to Hawaii soon?
ALOHA Daniel, I have been here in existence for quite some time. Life is a constant education and we choose our classes, seems that we chose our direction . We shouldn’t judge others or compare ourselves to anyone,because our life’s education is exclusive to us/you. Our inspiration or teachers come in many forms. At the risk of sounding mushy…..Really Laugh, really Live. and. Really love. I read a story about Steve Jobs and his beginnings. He looked back and connected the dots that lead him where he had gotten in life. I Think that speech is on utube. I also keep in mind what my grandmother (Grace Aipa Lee) would say to me “Never mind others,mind what your doing” Good advice for me for years.
Aloha, Thank you for sharing your thoughts. You took a good risk sounding mushy because I like was you said – REALLY Laugh, REALLY Live, and REALLY Love. If you are going to do something you might as well do it with everything you go.
Morning Daniel! Yes the aloha spirit is given to anyone I come across! About to head to work and YES so looking forward to visiting Hawaii in August, so less than 6 months to go! WOOHOO! Mahalo Daniel again. You are saviour! Have a lovely weekend!
Hi Daniel,
Comparing myself to others is a rather painful subject for me. Also the bad thing is that I usually compare myself to someone who is BETTER than me. I rare think like: “I’m better than that person, because he smokes and I do not”, I would rather think: “Oh, his biceps are bigger than mine”.
Hey Alex,
Thank you for visiting my site. We all have those two voices in our heads and usually the negative one is much louder. I found that it’s important to condition the positive voice by surrounding yourself by people who support you and feeding your mind with positivity. Thanks for commenting and if you need some help on getting bigger arms, I’ll be more than happy to get a plan to you for that. Aloha
Hey Daniel,
Thank you for your reply. Regarding bigger arms, I think I’m going to give it one more try soon, so your help will be appreciated
Actually I’ve been working out with a personal instructor for two years, but it’s very hard for me to gain any mass – I don’t have a big appetite and sometimes I miss meals, so my weight haven’t changed much since I started exercising.
Aloha Alex,
Just let me know when you are ready for some help. Feel free to contact me with any questions you may have. I’m sure there is a way we can find out together how to get you to gain more lean body mass. Looking forward to helping you out. Mahalo for the supprt and Aloha.
Thank you, Daniel!