"A flower does not think of competing with the flower next to it -- it just blooms."
What does it mean to be confident? The literal definition of the word is to be "sure of oneself; having no uncertainty about one's own abilities, correctness, successfulness, etc." To embody a strong sense of belief in yourself is to never doubt what you are capable of. It also means that you restrain from putting yourself down in light of anything that could be considered to be a failure. I honestly believe that one of the major sources that feeds into the lack of confidence that so many people experience is the comparison of themselves to others surrounding them.
A sense of inferiority brought upon by viewing others as being better than me in certain areas has been an issue I've struggled with my whole life. Anytime I think that I've found my niche, any time that I actually feel confident in myself about something personal, like clockwork, someone seems to sweep in and take the "first place spot" that I have created in my mind. Shamefully, I could not tell you how many times I've felt that I looked pretty, then stumbled upon another girl's Instagram and immediately felt lesser. How ridiculous is this? That I become down on myself for no valid reason other than the stupid monster that is insecurity impact how I feel about myself.
The honest problem with the matter at hand is that although it has the power to beat up for spirits, it is petty. We cannot allow the actions of others to affect us in such a dramatic sense. There are seven billion living, breathing people on this planet that all have their niches, likes and involvements. Therefore, the likelihood is very high that somebody out there is better than you at the things you think are your strongest assets. As tough as it may be to hear this, we have to train ourselves to not let this discourage us from doing what we love boldly, passionately, wholeheartedly and confidently.
Life is not a competition. It is not a contest in which we are all constantly battling it out to be on the top of a non-existent pedestal. You will never genuinely be at peace with yourself if your self-certainty is so simply swayed by what somebody else is doing because people are never going to stop doing. Do not let your path of success and happiness be altered by glancing over at another person's because theirs is specific to them, not you. Just keep your blinders on when it comes to your "you" things and rejoice in your personal feats. No one is "better" than anyone -- we are all good. We are all talented. We are all enough.
