A year ago I wrote a telling article titled Thoughts Driving Your Behaviors. I had spent quite a bit of time studying and learning about how my thoughts had been affecting me and I wanted to share the knowledge I’d learned. Essentially my message was that as we learn to identify the thoughts we experience negative emotions with we will begin our journey to changing our thought patterns and the behaviors which result from them.
Today I am bringing the topic back to the forefront, I want to encourage people to take a good, hard look at themselves in order to really understand what is making them tick today. We all know how I feel about sweeping things under the rug and drifting through life, that behavior doesn’t work for long for anyone.
Do You Compare Yourself to Others?
Back in the day I used to compare myself to others and inevitably found myself lacking. Do you do this? Looking around your social circle do you see people who just seem to have it all together while you feel like you’re treading water to simply get by? Do you feel less intelligent, fashionable, successful, talented?
When you walk out of your house in your grubby clothes to pull weeds and notice your neighbor who is dressed in their spiffy gear, mowing their immaculate lawn do you feel resentment building? Do situations like these have you feeling less than?
These thoughts were common for me, in fact I had no idea it wasn’t normal to feel like this. I fought hard for so long to be the “best” at everything and appear like I had it all together when in reality my stress and insecurities were catching up on me.
We fight so hard to feel “secure”, comparing the worst of ourselves to the best in others when in reality we all struggle at times. These feelings of insecurity begin with a simple seed of doubt. A thought which is utterly harmless until we spend time mulling it over and attach emotions to it.
We take ownership of these insecure thoughts, we nurture them unknowingly and adopt them as a part of our identity which allows them to alter our behaviors.
By recognizing that these comparisons are pointless, that they suck the joy from our lives we can change these patterns and learn to value who we are today.
When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise.” (2 Cor. 10:12 NIV)
The quest for personal significance can end today, comparison will always leave us feeling like we are lacking. Rather than seeking our value through comparison, we can learn to see our value through God’s eyes and focus on God’s acceptance, security, and significance.
The more I strengthen my spiritual foundation in Christ, the more my beliefs have been reflected in my true identity.
Are you ready to stop comparing yourself and live the life God has in store for you?
you are so right Julie, comparing ususally just leaves us feeling inadequate and often jealous. lets just be ourselves!
You are so right that we shouldn’t compare ourselves to others, it’s totally not healthy!
I try not to compare myself to others, especially physical appearance. I try to be thankful for what God has bless me with. We are all different and unique. I hope that this is what I can help my girls understand as they figure out who they are.