Have you ever spiralled down a long road of comparison? Have you ever been so frustrated with how people live their life, the decisions they make, the choices they make? Man it is hard to watch people be absolute shitty humans but I have developed my favorite phrase that i try my best to live by…..

EVERYONE LIVES THEIR LIVES DIFFERENTLY

When I start getting involved in the choices people make, the things I see that I don’t agree with, the detrimental decisions I see them make, I remind myself that it is not my life to live. What others do has nothing to do with me and my life choices.

How in the world do we stop comparing? How do we let others live their life their way without thinking they should do it differently? Let’s explore…..

No. 1 – Let’s be grateful – Practicing gratitude every morning helps us see the good in our lives. When I started writing down three things every morning that I was grateful for in my life little by little I stopped worrying about how others live. Some days I am grateful for the sunshine peeping through my windows when I wake and other days, I am grateful for my feet supporting me. Today I am thankful for my health and tomorrow I will be thankful I have a reliable vehicle to get me where I need to be every day. Every day is different, and you find so so much to be grateful for the more you practice.

No 2: Being content. Having contentment about where you are in life, your life choices, and your successes will start to lead you to not worrying about the life’s others live. When you are consumed in making your own life great for yourself and making choices that coincide with your life and dreams, you stop comparing yourself and your choices. I am a go getter, but others may be content to stay where they are in life. We all lead our lives differently and that is what makes everyone unique.

No 3: Social media – When you start to realize what you are comparing is someone’s highlight reel you realize that you only see the good. Many times seeing the real lives of those social media stars is eye opening, instead of feeling envy, you feel bad for them. Of course, it is great when people clap for you but when you get to the level that you only need to clap for yourself, that is a dangerous level of freedom not everyone gets to experience.

No 4: Your Strength. You can remain humble and admit your strengths. Being hard on yourself leads to comparison living.

Try to think of 3 things that you are great at and write them down.

-I am scheduled. When I ran a daycare, I realized that living life on a schedule meant less chaotic, less guessing, and more getting things done. Scheduled living has decreased the uncertainty of the day and increased my productivity. Knowing what is ahead gives me a sense of ease when I look at my week ahead and know where I need to be and at what time.

–I am a helper. I love to help people improve their lives. I have quite a few people that ask me for advice. I have worked really hard to offer great advice but not let it affect me if they do not follow through on doing their part to make their lives better. I love to see people happy and succeeding in life, especially when they work hard on that journey to get there. Not everyone is as strong as I am to be able to be determined in life, but everyone leads their life differently.

– My determination. I have such determination in life when there is something I want. I don’t take no for an answer. I research and study and spent countless hours finding the answers I need to get what I want. Obsession may be a good word what me getting what I want in life.

No. 5: Celebrate others. When you are happy for others successes you will attract more in your life. You will compare yourself less to others. You will just plain ole be happier if you realize that just because others are winning that doesn’t mean you are not as well.

No. 6: Compete!! Competition is good when you are competing with yourself. Today, do better than you did yesterday. Set your goals and every day compete to get closer to those goals.

Journal every day on your goals and what you did today to get closer to the goals you set for yourself. Journals are a great way to get your feelings out, but they are also a great way to focus on your goal progress. Periodically going back through your journal may help you in your goal progress by striking up an old memory. A journal can also be motivation when you see how far you have come towards the goals you have set for yourself.

No. 7: Timed Social media. Limit the time you spend on social media for surfing purposes. If you are wasting your time surfing friend’s social media accounts, then set a timer for 30 mins so you don’t get lost down the rabbit hole of hours wasted comparing the highlight reels. When you feel the pull to check out social media make sure it is productive. If you can squash a step towards your goal by surfing social media by all means spend some time in there.

Remember…facebook lives are not real lives.

Baby steps towards a better life counts just as much as cold turkey. If you conquer one step above in a month then you are crushing your goals. If you are a go getter and decide that you will practice each of the above daily, then you are crushing your goals a bit quicker. Either way be proud of yourself for every step towards a better life of worrying about yourself and your life instead of others.

I would love to hear how these steps are helping you!