How to stop comparing yourself to others
In Jim Kwik’s book, Limitless, he talks about how people with negative thoughts actually bring on more ailments to themselves. Yet, they say that negative thoughts are addictive and this is likely why many of us end up in a spiral that takes a few days to pull ourselves out of when we start thinking thoughts associated with – self-doubt, fear, envy and more. What we tend to forget (because we’re human) is that the brain is a product of our teachings not the other way around. Your brain will do what you tell it to. If you allow it to continue to think the same thought over and over again, it will. This is why I love Gabby Bernstein’s ‘Choose Again’ method that she shares in her book, The Universe has your back. Gabby discusses that our thoughts are a product of our choice and any time we think a thought is not serving us, we can choose again.
In a social media driven world where comparing ourselves to others has become the norm, we have become willingly vulnerable to thoughts of self-doubt. In his book, Jim Kwik also says that no brain is created exactly the same. We are unique beings and that’s evident in the way our brains are wired. So really it makes no sense for us to compare ourselves to someone else who’s brain operates in a different way. Shouldn’t we instead be comparing ourselves to our own potential?
Imagine a social media scroll where all the pictures were images of yourself doing the things that you wanted to be doing. Imagine seeing yourself living your life to your full potential. Imagine the stories on your Instagram feed were only of you being 150% you and every time you scrolled there would be another picture of you living the life you’ve always seen for yourself.
Visualize it.
What feelings does this trigger for you? It can’t really be envy because it’s only you on the screen. So perhaps you’ll leave feeling motivated after seeing yourself doing all the things you want to do. Comparing ourselves to others, whether through social media or in other ways, only limits you from realizing your own authentic potential. Instead, you’re telling your brain that you want it to be like the other person. This is impossible since each of our brains are wired differently. What if instead, you applauded others and began to simply visualize your own dreams. This would allow your brain to create a reality for you that has your own magic sauce added to it - something no one else can recreate.
It only makes sense to compare ourselves to ourselves vs each other. The people who’s pictures we are liking and scrolling past aren’t us – they don’t have our brain or genetic makeup. So trying to get yourself to look, act or think like someone is an impossible mission – and one that could cause you to miss seeing your own potential. Instead, anytime you find yourself doing the mindless scroll, think about what you would like to see yourself doing. An Instagram world where the only pictures were those of you performing at your highest potential. I think that deserves a like.