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How to Stop Negative Comparisons

It is common and natural to compare yourself to others. Here are several tips for identifying when you are making negative comparisons, and how to redirect yourself.

© VanesaGiaconi/unsplash.com

(VanesaGiaconi/unsplash.com)

© VanesaGiaconi/unsplash.com (VanesaGiaconi/unsplash.com)

Tips to Redirect Negative Comparisons:

  1. Raise your awareness of negative situations

Start noticing the situations that cause you to compare yourself to others, or question your self-worth. This will allow you to begin to recognize the situations that trigger comparisons and avoid these situations. 

2. Remind yourself that not everything is as it seems

While the outward appearance of someone else’s life might appear to be better than yours, there is no way for you to know the intricacies of their life. Everyone has both positive and negative in their life, so the best thing you can do for yourself is to focus on the positive within your own. 

3. Focus on your strengths and blessings

Instead of focusing on the skills or strengths of another person, focus on your own. Comparison is only helpful if it motivates you to improve yourself. Beyond that, there is no use in fretting because someone else is better than you at a specific skill. Be grateful for the good in your life instead of becoming jealous of the good in another’s life.

“To overcome challenges, stop comparing yourself to others”

Due to a spinal cord injury, Dean Furness lost the use of his legs. He found himself comparing himself not only to other people, but also to who he was before his accident. However, he developed a powerful new mindset, focused on himself and getting better little by little. In this talk, Dean speaks about what it takes to succeed when faced with challenges, and how to stop comparing yourself to others. 

« “I promise you, even though what you see here is very visible in terms of the challenges that I face, everybody here has something that they're fighting, and it may be visible, it may not be, but please, take some time and focus on you instead of others, and I bet you can win those challenges and really start accomplishing so many great things.” »

Click on the linkto watch Dean Furness TED Talk on "To overcome challenges, stop comparing yourself to others".


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