It is super easy to take in a casual Pinterest, Facebook, or Instagram session of wondering what other folks are doing, and go from “oh wow that is neat”, to “oh they’re amazing and I am never going to even come close to their brilliance”. It starts out as a friendly look at all the pretty things, and then it turns ugly.
Playing the comparison game can bring about frustration, looking at what others are doing and not matching up. Slowly I’ve come to understand that comparing myself to others, was not only discouraging me, but it was also ruining my motivation, and my inspiration. I would go from excited to create, to nearly despair just by seeing someone else's success. How easy it is to compare yourself unfairly, to go toe to toe with a giant of your own making.
Comparison often brings unfair assumptions, serving to discourage and frustrate. We only see other people’s successes, and carefully crafted failures. We create the truth we share with others. Never posting about our failures unless it benefits us in some way, this is human nature, a vanity if you will. We show off our white picket fence perfect life, filtering out the weeds and droughts.
If you see something beautiful, allow yourself to be inspired, encouraged, and uplifted. Don’t burden yourself with envy and comparison. You can choose to create contentedness where you are, and seek out what your soul loves. You choose what road your life will follow, choose the narrow. You can choose to be discouraged or uplifted, the decision is yours.
Go. Create. Inspire.
For your reflection:
Philippians 4:4-8
Proverbs 23:17-18
Matthew 7:13-14
Ecclesiastes 4:4,8
