The other day, while scrolling through Pinterest in an attempt to pass the time on the train to work, I found myself reading through the corny text pictures that always pop up as suggested for me. I was browsing rather absentmindedly until I came across one that really stuck with me. It read: a flower doesn't compete with other flowers, it just blooms.
I immediately thought of all the times I've compared myself to and attempted to compete with others and felt silly for ever doing that. This corny text picture turned into a new mantra for me. Why do I spend so much time trying to be better than other people when everyone can be great on their own? As soon as I began thinking more deeply about this quote, I was humbled. So many people spend a ridiculous amount of time trying to one-up their peers. Whether it be in terms of schoolwork, performance at your job or even petty things like outfits or likes on Instagram - everyone is guilty of this. But why?
From a young age, we are constantly being compared to others. The value of our performance in school is judged by how well the other kids are doing. The attractiveness of ones appearance is decided by how well others dress, how mature they look, and how put together they are. This point of view can be applied to virtually any situation in our lives; everything comes down to a comparison. At the end of the school year last year, a friend of mine was upset about not being elected to a position she ran for within the student government association. When she was venting to me about it, I simply told her not to measure herself using someone else's ruler. I knew she was good enough, and that better things would come for her - and I knew she would realize this if she stopped comparing herself to others and focused on how to achieve her personal goals.
If we spent less time thinking about how we match up in comparison to others, we would have more time to focus on our own growth. By using our energy to tear others down, we not only tire ourselves out but also make it okay for others to do the same to us. So, my advice to you is: think like a flower. Bloom on your own. Flowers aren't concerned about the success of the other flowers around them. Instead, they focus on themselves, and themselves only - leaving the rest of the flowers to grow on their own, too.
