I don’t want this to trigger anyone, but comparing yourself is good.
It’s healthy.
You should be comparing yourself as far as I’m concerned.
With that said, we absolutely shouldn’t judge, speak harshly or overly criticize ourselves, but we absolutely should compare ourselves.
We should be comparing ourselves to the person we see every single day to the person that we endeavor to be. This “person” is you.
You need to be comparing yourself to the “you” that you expect of yourself.
I should be comparing me to the me that I want to be, which I do, unashamedly and unabashedly, but also with a bit of mercy and grace being careful not to beat myself up.
I’d argue that we’re often harder on ourselves than we are on other people. We treat ourselves the exact opposite of how we hope others will treat us or how we exhort and expect our children to treat others. This whole “Golden Rule” thing doesn’t much exist in a lot of our individual lives and minds.
But, I’d also argue that a healthy-minded person can compare him or herself without picking him or herself apart.
Are you the leader that you want to be?
Are you the parent you want to be?
Are you the spouse you want to be?
Are you the friend you want to be?
Are you the employee, colleague or teammate you want to be?
Are you eating wisely and exercising?
Are you experiencing the joy you want? Are you providing the joy you want?
Are you as considerate as you want?
Are you as far along in your faith as you want?
You get the idea. Are you the man or woman that you saw for yourself as a child, minus, perhaps, orbiting the earth in a cool astronaut suit?
After delicate, but honest comparisons, if you aren’t the person you have endeavored to be, ask yourself why, evaluate your surroundings, make a plan, surround yourself with people who encourage you, set a launch date (à la astronaut), move positively forward and don’t look back.
Stay in constant-improvement mode.
I now leave you with the encouragement a good friend once told me over a text message, “u got dis!”
