Do you ever find yourself on the train of thought taking you on a ride of low self-esteem?

Comparing yourself to someone else, in whichever regard, can be very painful and detrimental to your well being. There aren’t enough ways to describe how toxic such a thing can be. It has the potential to translate to various levels of a person’s life: one’s career decisions, one’s appearance, one’s personality, and even how one is treated by people.

Yet the very act seems so minuscule and harmless, especially when you are in the act of comparing. It happens so swiftly, too easily, and you don’t even know you’re doing, until you’ve completed your analysis and are left with the after-taste of self-pity and self-loathe.

I’ve noticed that for me. The severity of this after-taste depends on who the person is that I’m comparing myself to and what personal, previous experience I have with them. If it’s someone who I feel shares a lot in common with me, it hurts more. This is not to say that I don’t like the person. Sometimes it hurts more when the person is really likeable. However, if it’s someone who previously made me feel low about myself, it hurts even more. “Oh so they’re doing good, and I’m not. Why?”

But where I am at fault in this is that I fail to acknowledge that, no matter what relevance there may be, we are completely different people, each granted with our own blessings and tested with our own obstacles. Also, as much as I compare myself to others and count my shortcomings, there is probably no one out there who has the time to evaluate and judge my life, besides myself.

So I can mope and loathe about the deficiencies pf my life and foster low-esteem, or recognise the blessings and accomplishments of my life and foster contentment and confidence. Neither is necessarily going to change my situation, but I might as well focus on the water that does lie in my glass. Who knows what gratitude may bring about in my life.

Just a small reminder to myself and anyone else who may need this.

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