The Comparison Trap

Hey Readers welcome back to another training session. I am excited about todays topic because it is something that many people deal with. Today we are going to dive into the "Comparison Trap" and how we can avoid it. As we go through life comparison is a natural thing that most people do. We compare what we have with others all the time, these things often look like grades, status, results, money, jobs, outfits, body image etc. If you look hard enough, you can literally compare yourself to someone with just about anything. We sometimes fall into the trap because of people who are in authority over us too(e.g parents and bosses). Those authority figures sometimes use comparison as a way of motivation(granted this does NOT work for many people). With internet culture on the forefront of most people's lives, falling into the trap of comparison is much easier than ever before. The worst part about comparison is that you never know the full story. You're busy comparing 100% of your whole life to someone else's 10% of theirs.

Here's some ways to avoid the comparison trap:

1. Limit your time on social media On social media put their highlights, they'll rarely ever post their failures online. You're comparing your reality to their highlight reel. Social media is fake and it is not real life. People can appear to be happy online but they're miserable in real life. There's numerous cases for that as well. For example, there's so many social media couples and everyone is like "yes couple goals"! Then something surfaces and then they split and they've been unhappy for years but yet they've been putting up a front on social media. Remember, the grass is always greener on the other side if it's fake. The beauty though is that your grass can be greener if you take time to water it.
   

2. Learn to be genuinely happy for others when they succeed. This is hard because we often think that when one person succeeds then that automatically means that you've failed. That is far from the truth, someone else's success has nothing to do with you. Regardless of what authority figures may have told you, you're not a failure because someone succeeded. You don't need to secretly hate on others, there's more than enough seats at the table. When you're not winning, take time to figure out the game from the sideline so it when it's your turn, it will mean so much more.
   

3. Take time to evaluate what you're good at and passionate about. When you have laser focus on. yourself, you won't even have time to look at what everyone else is doing because you 'll be so focused on what you're doing. Really take the time to focus on yourself and your craft. You'll legit not have time to think about what others are doing. Finding your passions isn't as hard as you think. Once you find it, you'll begin to operate like you never have before.
   

4. Surround yourself with the right people. Bad company can corrupt good character. Surround yourself with people who actually want to see you win and not look at you as competition. Your friend group should have you inspired, not jealous. When you're with others who want to see you win, it's easy to want to see them win as well. Everyone can win, life isn't always a competition. Find people who bring out the good in you, not the bad.
   

5. Shift your concept of time This is a big one, a lot people think life ends at 30 and they're too old for everything. I am telling you now, you're not as old as you think you are! It's never too late to do a lot of things. Let's say you're 25 now, you can relive your whole life again and only be 50. The young people you see succeeding online is not the norm, everyone isn't going to be a millionaire at 20 but who says you won't be one at 35? The founder of Greygoose alcohol was 78 when he started, so trust me when I say, you have plenty of time. To those who are older reading this, the same applies to you too, as long as you're alive, there's something that you can do.
   

6. Run your race What works for someone else, might not work for you and that is okay. Trust your own process because once you figure it out, you'll gain tons of momentum. There's plenty of ways to reach the mountaintop, find yours.
   

7. Be patient Life is a marathon, not a sprint. People might seem like they're ahead of you now, but if you stay the course, you'll meet them at the top. Take time to figure out the game because it is a LONG one. However being patient does not mean sit around and do nothing. Take massive action and at the same time be extremely patient with the results. Remember where your story starts isn't necessarily where it ends.
   

Thank you so much for take time to read these. I hope that you stay the course on all your endeavors and watch yourself elevate. Do your best to not fall into the comparison trap because we all have our own race to run. Until Next Time,

E. Ibadin