Posted by Tommy Runfola | April 12, 2017
DON’T Catch the DISEASE of COMPARISON!
I’m sure many of you are familiar with the quote “Comparison is the Thief of Joy,” but I’ve been reflecting and thinking deeply about this concept lately and want to expound on it here.
I mean, let’s face it, we live in a SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD now. And whether you are using social media platforms to brand yourself and grow your business, connect with old friends and classmates, or keep up on the day-by-day happenings of your grandkids, the nature of social media lends itself to COMPARISON.
Now this is not all necessarily BAD. “Comparison” can in fact be a good way to judge your own progress, when it’s used to STUDY THE SUCCESS of OTHERS so that you may learn from it. But at the end of the day, it’s important to forget about the forces you can’t control, and concentrate on only one thing: being the best you realistically can be!
The habit of constantly comparing oneself and their own progress to others can quickly lead to despair and demise.
Recently, I spoke with a good friend whom I consider strikingly accomplished and brilliant. She lamented that a certain person in her field made her feel inadequate. I told her if she felt inadequate, the rest of us were screwed.
After we had a long conversation about this topic, we kind of landed on the 2 sides of the spectrum to try to stay between for COMPARISON to be in the HEALTHY ZONE and not the DISEASE STATE:
1) IGNORE the BRAGGING
This was hard for me to do. Sometimes I still get resentful or jealous of others’ successes. But another wise friend once said that there was enough success for everyone around us. Celebrating someone else’s achievements when you desperately want your own can be very difficult. But you don’t genuinely want that exact achievement–figure out what you want your own achievement to be, irrelevant of others.
2) USE IT as a REALISTIC way to set BENCHMARKS
They say in business you’re only as good as your competition. Sometimes competition can be a good thing–it drives you to push the boundaries in your own business or at a company. However, it’s important to not let “beating” the opponent get in the way of creating something you believe in.
Comparing yourself to others can be debilitating. It was for me, and I don’t doubt that it is for others. The constant stream of brags on social media, in magazines, online, in our own navel-gazing and self-promoting society can feel really, really bad.
If you let it.
In order to succeed, you have to be the best you. Oscar Wilde was right: “Everyone else is already taken.”
SO, here to another GREAT WEEK…but this time making it “good” based on your own standards!
