Death by Comparison

Do you ever find yourself caught up in an internal battle, frustrated with yourself and wondering how you let your head take you there? That has been my life the past couple of weeks. 

I've been caught up in comparisons. Comparing the way I look to girls that are in better shape than I am. Comparing my blog to others that are more successful. Comparing where I am in my career verses others I graduated with. Across all avenues, I've been struggling with staying positive on where I am in life. 

And for what reason? Why do we feel like we have to look at the progress of others to measure our own success? While battling with this, I found a quote by Bob Goff while scrolling through my Instagram feed that stopped my train of thought:

We won't be distracted by comparison if we're captivated by purpose.

I should be so focused on what's motivating me to meet my goals that I'm not allowing myself to be distracted by the success of others. Yes, we celebrate the success of those around us and encourage them along the way, but we don't allow it to stop us from focusing on and fulfilling our own purpose.

Allowing yourself to compare your progress to those around you kills your dreams. We are not meant to be uniform, excelling at the same speeds and succeeding in the same ways. Our achievements wouldn't carry nearly the same weight if everyone around us was accomplishing the same goals at the same time. We are called to challenge ourselves and work hard until we succeed, no matter how long it takes or how difficult it can be to get there. We have to be willing to allow ourselves to be captivated by our purpose.