Every minute of every day, we are comparing two things to one another. Some comparisons are harmless: like which is better, Chipotle or Q'doba? But throughout college, I have seen how comparison can be the death of joy, causing one to focus only on how they measure up to others.
Competition can be healthy when competing against yourself or when it works to challenge you to reach your goals or become a better version of you. However, competition can become a problem when it is used solely to put yourself above another.
Comparison goes hand-in-hand with competition. I hear people comparing themselves to other people constantly. “She has more friends than I do." “He's smarter than I am." “I'm just not as talented at her." But what it comes down to is that no two people can ever be compared. Everyone has completely different gifts, and to compare your own gift to another persons gift, does nothing for you. If you want to be better at something, comparing yourself to another does not make you any better. Sitting there wishing and thinking that someone has more friends, is more successful than you or is smarter is not only a waste of time, but it's downright unhealthy. It takes away your motivation and decreases your ability to achieve your own goals, leaving you too obsessed over what those around you are doing.
If you are constantly comparing your worth to others, you will always be losing. You will be viewing life as a competition, rather than the amazing gift that it is. The thing that makes life so interesting is that it is full of billions of completely different and unique people. Part of what makes life so awesome is learning from the talents, gifts, and abilities of others and letting others learn from yours. If you are constantly looking at life as a competition against others, you will miss out on that growth. You'll remain stagnant and unchanging.
Instead of seeing someone else succeed and comparing your own success to theirs, be happy for them and learn from them. Talk to them and see the amazing things they are doing. If you're too busy comparing yourself to somebody else, you are living life in reaction to the people around you.
How you measure up against others makes no difference. The goal of life is not to be better than a certain person or to be the most successful person at your school. The goal of life is to be the best you that you can possibly be.
