The Comparison Trap | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post

The Comparison Trap

"Don't compare your beginning, to someone else's middle." - Jon Acuff

24
Savannah Class Ring
@jinnykphoto

I work in a business where I interact with probably 100 people a day. I hear stories from all walks of life, I hear people's complaints, worries, happy days, pure joy, etc. One person was telling me about how their daughter had obsessive comparison disorder for a whole year. Yes, I term I had never heard of either. He told me that is basically watching others succeed and others live moving forward, while you feel like you are sitting still. Uh, guilty! I felt like I had just been roasted via a third-party. Growing up, we all indirectly compare our achievements to others. We can barely pass a hard test, but someone else just passed the bar their first try. We can see others starting families, while we just finished the 13th season of Grey's Anatomy.

My 90s babies and younger, probably all have an effect of the obsessive comparison disorder. I didn't even think mine was that bad until I realized I was measuring my success by other people's timelines. While I am a self-aware person, since graduating college I've become aware in other ways. I'm aware of how I act, who I am, how I treat others, how my looks compare to others, how my body is compared to others, etc. Yet, I just started the job comparison. Where will I be in five years? Will I ever use my degree that I worked for four years for? (holla, if you know of a public relations job opening!) Do I even have a chance in my field? When will my opportunity come for the best job? All the questions seem the have the same answer: be still and be patient.

Does being patient and still mean not trying your hardest for a promotion? No. It means trying as much as you can but accepting when God says no to some opportunities. Some people will get their dream job when graduating from college, that's what they need. You may need to work your way up first. Getting impatient and falling into the comparison trap, doesn't help anyone. Put your faith and hope in God and he will guide you in the right direction. Don't let comparisons trap you from God's plan for you.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
ross geller
YouTube

As college students, we are all familiar with the horror show that is course registration week. Whether you are an incoming freshman or selecting classes for your last semester, I am certain that you can relate to how traumatic this can be.

1. When course schedules are released and you have a conflict between two required classes.

Bonus points if it is more than two.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

12 Things I Learned my Freshmen Year of College

When your capability of "adulting" is put to the test

4158
friends

Whether you're commuting or dorming, your first year of college is a huge adjustment. The transition from living with parents to being on my own was an experience I couldn't have even imagined- both a good and a bad thing. Here's a personal archive of a few of the things I learned after going away for the first time.

Keep Reading...Show less
Featured

Economic Benefits of Higher Wages

Nobody deserves to be living in poverty.

302928
Illistrated image of people crowded with banners to support a cause
StableDiffusion

Raising the minimum wage to a livable wage would not only benefit workers and their families, it would also have positive impacts on the economy and society. Studies have shown that by increasing the minimum wage, poverty and inequality can be reduced by enabling workers to meet their basic needs and reducing income disparities.

I come from a low-income family. A family, like many others in the United States, which has lived paycheck to paycheck. My family and other families in my community have been trying to make ends meet by living on the minimum wage. We are proof that it doesn't work.

Keep Reading...Show less
blank paper
Allena Tapia

As an English Major in college, I have a lot of writing and especially creative writing pieces that I work on throughout the semester and sometimes, I'll find it hard to get the motivation to type a few pages and the thought process that goes behind it. These are eleven thoughts that I have as a writer while writing my stories.

Keep Reading...Show less
April Ludgate

Every college student knows and understands the struggle of forcing themselves to continue to care about school. Between the piles of homework, the hours of studying and the painfully long lectures, the desire to dropout is something that is constantly weighing on each and every one of us, but the glimmer of hope at the end of the tunnel helps to keep us motivated. While we are somehow managing to stay enrolled and (semi) alert, that does not mean that our inner-demons aren't telling us otherwise, and who is better to explain inner-demons than the beloved April Ludgate herself? Because of her dark-spirit and lack of filter, April has successfully been able to describe the emotional roller-coaster that is college on at least 13 different occasions and here they are.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments