We’ve all been there at one point in our life. We compare our lives to other people based on their success or where they’re at in life. Sometimes even compare ourselves to people thinking we’re better than them. This is a not a good mindset to have in life. Not comparing yourself to others is easier said than done, though.

You might scroll through your social media and see your friend with a high paying career. Or that person you went to high school just bought a new car. You might see your best friend got engaged and you have to be happy for them. Even then, there’s always someone with more success and the comparisons never stop. This sets up an unrealistic expectation on what to do in order to “make it” in life. Focusing on other people’s lives takes a lot of energy from helping you focus on yourself. Other people’s “happiness” or “successful” lives should not be the ultimate standard for success.

Like Theodore Roosevelt said, “comparison is the thief of joy.” Making comparisons to other people is not fair and deprives us of our joy. We are all unique and have our own hidden talents. Paying too much attention to how other people are successful prevents you from looking at the things you are good at. At worse, it lowers your self esteem because you allow others to dictate how you feel about yourself.

Comparisons are also not good because they will always leave you unmotivated and not wanting to move forward.

Besides not comparing your life to others, you have to remember you do not always know what goes on every day in a person’s life. A good example of this can be seeing someone post on social media about how many cars they have, how happy they look in their relationship, or successful they claim to be because of all the houses they own. Respectively, this person might be struggling with car payments, is unhappy in their relationship, or is really in debt. This is not always the case with everyone, but you do not truly know a person’s life.

Some things you can do to stop comparing yourself to others is to focus on your own strengths, be grateful for the things you have, and just enjoy the journey in life. Everyone has their own path and journey in life. Do not be discouraged just because it looks like other people have their life together. Everything gets better. Eventually you will get to where you want to be in time.

At the end of it, you really do not want to live someone else’s life. You want to live your own life and stop comparing yourself with other people. That is one of the main things to living a  happier life. It will also help you stay focused on your own goals and find contentment in life.