It’s so easy to compare ourselves with others, but what is the benefit of doing so?
If we always focus on those who seem to do better than us or have more than us, we can easily become jealous or discouraged. If we always focus on those who seem to be doing worse than us, we might develop a false sense of accomplishment and become complacent.
The problem is that we often don’t see or know all that is involved in the lives of the people we see. We don’t know where they’ve come from, or where they’re going, or the opportunities or challenges they’ve had along the way. We just see the outside, but without knowing everything else, it’s hard to assess what’s really going on.
But even if we did know, it wouldn’t change the fact that, ultimately, we’re not responsible for what others do or don’t do. But we are responsible for us. We know where we’ve been, we know the opportunities and challenges we’ve faced. And regardless of how we appear on the outside, we’re the ones who know what’s really going on in the inside—whether we’re really giving our best, or just coasting along.