Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Self Doubt And The Evils Of Comparison

*Disclaimer: This is not my content...and don't know who's it is. I thought it was worth sharing with you.

Pride is one of the vicious beast unleashed when you fall into a state of comparison.

First of all, making any comparison has the inherent falsehood that we know what is “Best”.

How could I know that being the CEO of GOOGLE is “Better” than being a Life Guard at the beach?

To believe that such a comparison is even possible is to believe in an external measuring stick – obviously that is crazy.

The only true measuring stick is happiness.

Unfortunately I can get so focused on missed opportunities that I forget that I was happy.

It’s easy to get pulled into the “White picket fence” story where “Happiness is measured by prestige, pride and accomplishments. But I know that my true happiness comes from following my heart and coming from love.

It would be a huge mistake to start focusing on: “Things” as proof of my joy. It would be totally counterproductive to draw value from my life by counting accomplishments vs. others accomplishments.

Here are a few mental “Tricks” to help get back to sanity.

1) Asking myself; I am happy?
Nothing makes me see the insanity quicker than this question.

It is a special kind of crazy to lose the joy of a moment because you compare it to another option. It’s like having a wonderful meal and becoming focused on the six (6) course dinner that I am missing out on.

Am I not filling my belly? Am I not enjoying the taste? Do I even know that I would LIKE the six (6) course meal? Or that it would even be good for me?

2) Focus n the good things about the choices I *DID* make.
While this is still a comparison mentally, it at least helps snap me back into measuring what is important to me.

It is not the miles covered… it is the direction headed.

3) Looking at lives I admire.
Wealth and power are not even things I value. When I start to want them, it is usually when external voices start creeping in.

Let your choices be inspired by personal truth and away from societal pressures. Let your truth be loud enough that when you walk your walk that people hear and support you.

Your path is one of many many small steps and trips and stumbles should be expected.

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