Comparison

Contentment is often touted as the goal of life - To live without wanting for more than you have; to not covet... ignore the Jones’s.

When we see the Jones’s, When what they have or how they’re living feels like exactly what we’ve always wanted we can’t help but compare ourselves to them. Other times what we see is almost the opposite of what we want or how we’d like to live and we can feel holier-than-thou.

Either way:

The comparison we give attention to raises flags. One party is better than the other party.

But let’s unpack that a minute. Specifically one word - “better”.
Better implies that the goals are the same and one side is achieving those goals sooner/to a greater extent/with more style/etc. than the other side.

Now, what if we replace the word “better” with the word “Different”

Comparison raises flags; one party is different than the other party.

Different implies that the goals and/or the circumstances are not the same and, consequently, the journey and process for each party will not be the same.
This is a critical perspective shift on comparison.

This new perspective leaves room for self awareness and allows comparison to inform/empower us rather than discourage ourselves or our opinions of others.

When we are aware of who we are, what we’re doing, and most importantly why we’re doing it any comparison will be powerless over us. We understand that with different goals and different circumstances come different journeys and different processes.

If a comparison pops up, look at your own life and consider for yourself why you are doing it differently; what lead you here, where you are going, and how are you going to get there. That should clarify why your life is different and it should feel good/right.

If it doesn't, let that sit, lean into the comparison.
Identify what you feel is not only different, but better. If you want to and can justify the sacrifices, adjust your life in order to achieve that instead.

You are the architect of your life. You can do anything. Just be sure you consider seriously all the consequences when you make a change.