Be Your Own Measuring Stick

For July's Happiness Project, I decided to work on ways to become more optimistic. In a recent post on becoming a glass half full girl, I hit a little on the issues of comparing yourself to others.

I am constantly comparing myself to others.

Although you may not admit it out loud, I'm pretty sure we are all guilty of this. We size ourselves up against others financially, physically, socially, and sometimes even spiritually.

I've discovered there are two results when comparing yourself to others:

1. You Don't Measure Up. When you are measuring yourself against someone else, often times we feel as if we don't measure up. That's when we begin to think "I'm not as good as....., If I had more of .......". This can spark the flame of jealousy, which we all know can quickly become a roaring fire that consumes us.
2. You Become Prideful. When you are sizing someone up and you feel as if you are superior or have a better lot in life, then the issue of pride comes in to play. If you want a good example of how pride can destroy, look at the life of King Uzziah in 2 Chronicles 26. He was powerful, successful, and admired by his people. "But then strength and success went to his head. Arrogant and proud, he fell."

When you are a competitive person {as I am}, it's almost like you are hardwired to do so. It's okay to see others successes, because often times that can be a great motivator for ourselves. The issues arise when we feel we do not measure up and thus begin the game of judging ourselves.

No one will ever judge you as harshly as  you judge yourself.

It doesn't matter how many people you have cheering you on in the journey of life. If you cannot stop your own judgements of yourself and get on your own team, then you'll never make it pass the starting line.

Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives. That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. each of us is an original.   Galatians 5:25-26 (The Message)

Comparing yourself to others is like using an inaccurate and irrelevant measuring stick. More times than not it leaves us thinking that the grass is greener elsewhere.

So, how can we break this habit?

By focusing on ourselves, and measuring ourselves today against ourselves from yesterday or last year.

When you catch yourself using that innacurate measuring stick, turn your thoughts to your own growth. How am I better today than yesterday/last week/last year. What are my successes this year? How have I grown?

We're not talking about measuring our financial or social successes. In other words, focus on how you are becoming a better version of yourself. That's the stuff that counts. By doing this, we are bound to see our glass as half full, and our pasture as the greenest.