1. “Everything in life is easier when you don’t concern yourself with what everybody else is doing.”

There’s this saying that also says, ‘Comparison is the thief of joy’ and I feel like it’s a little bit of an extension of the above quote as well. When we concern ourselves too much on what everyone else is doing and keep on comparing, it makes everything in life harder because we end up putting too much pressure on ourselves. We end up making unreasonable expectations for ourselves that we’ll struggle to achieve and that in turn will just make us miserable and burnt out.

2. “Admire someone else’s beauty without questioning your own.”

We all have people in our lives that we admire… A famous celebrity who seems to have it all, A well-known blogger who has a very good following or even a co-worker who’s really good at his/her job. We look up to these people because they all have something we aspire for and want to have for ourselves…and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. What’s bad is when we start becoming insecure and begin to question our own abilities. Yes, they may have something that you might not have (at the moment)… but instead of doubting yourself, keep in mind that YOU also have qualities that you excel at and will be unique to you. Focus on yourself and work on these qualities in order to achieve your goals.

3. “Don’t compare your beginning to someone else’s middle.”

Our journey in life is different to each and every person in this world. It doesn’t matter if you’re the same age, in the same family, in the same clique… our lives are different. Our stories are different. Someone might be doing much better than you at something at the moment, but that’s just because they’ve started earlier and have more experience while you’re just beginning. Concentrate on your own journey and the next thing you know, you’ll be further along and will be the one to inspire other people someday.

4. “The only person you should try to be better than, is the person you were yesterday.”

This doesn’t need too much explanation. After reading through from numbers 1-3, we’ve pretty much established that life shouldn’t be spent in competition with others but instead with ourselves. We should work on ourselves not so that we can be the best and be more superior to others but so that we can be the best version of ourselves that we can ever be.

5. “Not being able to do as much as others does not make you a failure.”

Failure does not happen because you are not accomplishing as much as what other people are. Failure happens when you give up and stop working on your goals and plans because of discouragement… lack of courage… lack of faith in yourself. It does not matter how many things you are doing at the moment, what matters is the effort you put into doing them.

6. “The reason why we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind the scenes with everyone else’s highlight reel.”

Social media nowadays heighten our sense of insecurity because it makes us feel that everyone else in the world is achieving their goals and experiencing happiness… everyone but us. We see our friends travelling to different parts of the world we’ve always dreamed of visiting or we see our friends achieving the goals we have long set ourselves up to do, and we feel pressured and stressed out because everybody else’s life seems to be so much more promising and fun compared to ours. What we always fail to remember though is that these are just the ‘highlights’ of their journey… it does not tell their whole story. It does not show the hard times they had gone through ‘behind-the-scenes’ BEFORE they got to that particular ‘highlight’. So don’t feel too discouraged the next time you see your friend post yet another vacation photo on Facebook. If it really makes you feel bad, close that social media app and continue to work tirelessly on your behind-the-scenes until you reach your own highlight as well.

7. “A flower does not think of competing with the flower next to it… It just blooms.”

Stop looking at the people around you and comparing yourself to them. Focus your attention, time and effort inwards… towards yourself, towards nurturing yourself so that they will not be wasted. Like the sunshine and water that flowers need, feed yourself and your soul with positive things that will make you grow, instead of all the harsh criticisms and insecurities you tend to harbor when you are in constant rivalry with everybody else. Continue to cultivate yourself and you will bloom into something beautiful and great that (like the most beautiful of flowers) will not only catch people’s attention, but can make them feel good as well.