Comparison Can Cripple (Part 1)

This blog has been brewing for a long time because "comparison" is something I frequently fight against.  My guess is that I am not alone in this battle.  Hopefully, you will be able to find something helpful in what I share from my own journey.

For years, I have missed out on opportunities because "comparison" crippled me.  I have chosen not to do things out of fear that I wasn't good enough or that I might embarrass myself.  I would think,  "Someone else can do it better so why should I do it?"

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Before the internet, the only people we compared ourselves to were the "Jones's next door".  Now we have the whole world, with their best foot forward on social media, hitting us in the face every single day!  Which one of us doesn't scroll through our pictures to make sure we post our 'better side'?  Guilty as charged!

Which of these pictures do you think I posted?  DUH!​ 

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In today's world of social media, being bombarded with everyone's successes and best moments can wreak havoc with our own self esteem, self motivation, and feeling of worth and/or accomplishment.  When I realize this is happening to me, getting honest with myself helps me fight back!

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Here are a few honest thoughts that help me fight against being crippled by comparison....

1.  "You probably would not have wanted to walk in their shoes to get to where they are!"

I have lived long enough to know that is does not profit your soul to be envious of another person's title, talent, or even character traits.  You most likely have not seen the struggles, the heartaches, the losses, the hard work, the persistence, the tears, the travail in prayer, or anything else it took for them to daily overcome in order to get to where there are today.

Just this week I was reading Psalm 21 and my thoughts were captured by verses two and three.

"You send blessings of good things to meet me.  You set a crown of pure gold on my head."

What struck me was the mention of "pure gold".  Pure gold has been refined in a furnace!  If we are being honest, many times we want to reap the blessings and rewards without the blood, sweat, and tears it takes to wear that crown.

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2.  "Remember that Comparison & Envy are Close Companions!"

​When I start hearing the "green eyed monster" whispering in my ear, I find I have two choices - LET IT INSPIRE ME or LET IT DEFEAT ME.  I have to face reality - I am either willing to do what it takes to achieve an accomplishment I see in another person, or I would rather take a different course with my life and I have to be OK with that.  I can celebrate what I see in them without being envious!

....to be continued

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​Feel free to leave a comment on how you fight being "crippled by comparison".