Next Time You Start Comparing Yourself, Try This
Don’t let insecurity derail your progress.
After getting married, my husband and I chose an untraditional path. During the years that most Americans build careers, buy homes and start families, we biked through Europe and continued our education.
We returned to the U.S. full of stories and broader perspectives, but discovered that we’d fallen far behind our friends in every way traditionally used to measure success.
It felt awful.
I knew that our priorities and timelines were different, but still felt frustrated after hanging out with them. They led successful businesses while I worked in an entry level teaching job. As they planned remodels and vacations, we rented a small apartment and struggled to pay our bills.
After trying to implement a ton of advice about how to stop comparing myself to others, I realized it was useless.
People will always compare themselves to other people.
The trick is to set yourself up to quickly shift your focus back to your own path, before negative feelings get the best of you. Here are a few ways that work for me, and may work for you, too.
