I am certain we have all had moments in life where we have compared ourselves to other people. I know certainly that I have compared, felt envious, jealous, or thought “I wish I was so lucky”.
As of late, I have felt more and more grounded in my own actions, and accomplishments, and with that comes an newfound sense of peace. I have also been able to self-soothe my mind/emotions when these feelings start creeping in. One large thing I learned through my own journey of personal growth/development, and especially through my home and fitness, is that nothing happens overnight. Often we see the results, and harbor that resentment/jealousy, or comparative thought process based on a narrow, singular view, rather than remembering and/or knowing all the work that went into the final product.
For example:
1. Fitness – I have reached a place, physically and aesthetically, where I perform and look quite different than I used to. I might get compliments about my physical appearance, or on Instagram posts, but most of those are rooted in the here and now “snapshot” perspective. I have been on an (almost) 3 year “journey” now to change myself inside and out. I have spent countless hours working out, tracking macros, and overhauling my diet/lifestyle to support my goals. The “me today” is not the me from even just a few months ago, and I never want people to feel envious or negative because it took so much sacrifice, consistency, and more. I wasn’t “blessed” with good genes to just allow me to be at the fitness level that I am, and I am fairly certain that most others who have embarked on physical fitness changes would agree.
2. My home – I love my home. It is quite comfortable (to me), cozy, clean and functional; however, it wasn’t always this way. Guests come over and comment on how tidy, clean and organized it is…now!…but that was literally not the case, even so recent as just months ago. I have gone through SO much to downsize, organize and overhaul my life/space. I had to intentionally focus and practice daily to be better about keeping my space tidy. I used to be QUITE the slob. I would leave my clothes everywhere, I would drop things wherever I felt when I walked in the house and not put them into the spaces they “lived” in. I was never “dirty” so much as I just didn’t care if I left dishes in the sink for a couple days, or my room looked like a clothing tornado came through. COVID and working from home has actually helped me SO much in learning to better balance my responsibilities. Being able to feel and see how peaceful my environment CAN be has helped me want to continue to keep it that way, which makes it so much easier for me to keep things picked up, put away and consistently nice.
I hope that whenever we experience feelings of comparison, jealousy or inadequacy, that we can: 1. be kind to ourselves and know that our journey will never match another person’s precisely, and 2. take that moment to applaud the person it is directed toward, taking into account the countless “behind the scenes” hours that it has taken them to get wherever it is they are and wherever we desire to reach.
DreamerSD 