Let's be honest, we all do it. We all compare ourselves to someone else or everyone else. For crying out loud we've dedicated entire portions of our lives to looking at what everyone else is doing and how they looked doing it. But this isn't healthy for us and it definitely doesn't make us happy.
I will not lie, I compare myself to others and sometimes even try to imitate them. Sometimes it's good. I've learned better study habits this way and I've learned what confidence looks like. But other times I'm trying on trendy clothes in the Forever 21 dressing room and realizing that no matter how hard I try or no matter how much I may want this, it's just not going to work.
It just leaves you with the feeling that you're not good enough and you need to be making drastic changes in your life or just flat out give up. In my opinion, both sides of the road are important here.
To give up on trying to compare and compete with others is to accept yourself entirely. It takes time to jump from the feelings of self-rejection but it will come when you put in the effort. When you can finally say to yourself, "Forget it, I'm not trying to do this anymore," you are moving towards mental growth. Eventually, you'll start to realize that maybe you were good enough before and you're good enough now.
On the other hand, sometimes you just can't be happy with yourself. This isn't a good attitude, but if you've got the motivation to match, you can change. There's still some degree of self-acceptance that has to come in here, but there's nothing wrong with wanting to grow and change to become a better you. It becomes a bad thing when you're not loving yourself while you're doing it. Don't starve yourself to get skinny. Eat better, exercise regularly, be healthier and you will see the change you want in the way that it's meant to be. Don't prioritize studying over sleeping. Trust me, I've tried and all you'll do is make life more difficult and miserable. Prioritize, plan, find the methods that work for you, and grow from there.
There's no right decision to make when you come to the crossroads of wondering what comparing yourself to others is doing to you. Personally, I know that right now, I'm not capable of a drastic change in my life. What I need is to really accept who I am and there's nothing wrong with this decision. In fact, what everyone really needs is a little bit of both sides of the road. Comparing yourself is never going to be good for you, but work to turn even the most negative experiences into positives.
