I believe one of the leading causes to depression is comparison. In this social media world, we unlock our phones only to observe people that are “accomplishing” more then us. People that we believe are prettier, stronger, tanner and in happier relationships. We focus so much on others that we forget about what we have accomplished, what we have seen and what we bring to this world. The only person you should compare yourself to is you from yesterday.
A lot of us don’t approve of ourselves because we never take the time to look at ourselves. (Not the person in the mirror but the person beyond the mirror.) All of us, including myself find it easier to remember and reflect on all our mistakes, mishaps, downfalls and imperfections. You should learn from your mistakes, absolutely, but don’t be afraid to reward yourself for the accomplishments and the uprisings, it doesn’t make you a selfish person. I am not expecting you to be great just better than you were yesterday. As Les Brown once said, “There is some good in the worst of us and some bad in the best of us.”
Draw out a time line and on the far right write down one of your goals or even a dream. What I need you to realize is the giant empty gap before your goal or dream is where success takes place. The smiles, failures, leaps and tears shed. As long as you get back up and keep pushing towards that goal or dream, you are successful. Compare yourself every day to this time line. This time line is your mission statement so fill it out every day. Write down your falls, uprisings and when you brought a smile to someone’s face. This time line is who you are, the person you cannot see in the mirror, the only person you should ever compare yourself to.
“Progress is seen when you compare yourself to yourself." - Luke Bohnenberger