Comparing Oneself

Don't you know there will always be someone better?

Often I get discouraged when I start comparing myself with other people. The person who has the dream job (salary, responsibilities, perks, culture), or the dream house (yard, view, location, space), or the dream marriage (communication, understanding, recreational activities*). I have no doubt that these people worked hard for it, and work harder to keep it. But what do you tell the person who works just as hard, if not more, but can't seem to catch a break?

Comparing yourself with others is a very dangerous place to be in. It is so easy to be caught up in a moment of self-perceived failure. 

I remember a speaker once suggesting to not wake up to your smart phone, because of the tendency we have to then search through our emails and social networks. Instead, wake up to an old fashioned alarm clock and set the tone of the day to be free from any bondage of technology. 

Rather than competing with others, and that includes the attention to our iPhones, why don't we start competing with and comparing ourselves? 

I can wake up and decide if today will be better than yesterday based on the standard of Who I Am. It gets a lot easier when we know ourselves. How many hours did I put into writing today than I did yesterday? Smiling? Exercising? 

When you take time to push your limits, you are a happier and healthier person because of it. You will be a better person because of it. 

There will always be someone better. At least let it be you.  

 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. ” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

*sex