#47: The Comparison Trap
Dear friends, welcome to Living Boldly. I’m delighted you’re here.
This week, I found myself falling into the comparison trap more than once. Someone else in my sphere and my line of work is more successful than I am. They look like they have it all figured out and successes look like they come easy to them.
I consider myself to be a pretty mindful and self-aware person and yet, this week, I could not escape the trap. It’s easy to fall into and it’s human to do so; hence, I’m not beating myself up about it, simply acknowledging that it happened.
And then, by a sheer stroke of luck—or genius—I found an old story I wrote in 2013 about my first trip to Turkey. That find reminded me that the only person I can ever compare myself to is… you guessed it, myself.
It was incredible to see how bad my writing and photography were back then. 😂 And it lifted my spirits to see how far I’ve come in this time. (You can see a comparison of the two photos I took in Istanbul three years apart in this post below.)
I didn’t let my lack of skills stop me then.
And today, when my dreams are grander than ever before, I’m not going to let my new lack of new skills stop me either.
None of us are any good when we start and we get better as we take action and make progress, over time. The person I looked to compare myself with this week was once a beginner too. They got better and I will, as well.
And that is all we need to keep in mind.
Onwards,
Yulia
P.S. This week’s episode of the Genius Womxn podcast was very special. After recording it, I was floating on air for the rest of the day and I think you will as well when you listen. It’s a panel conversation with three brilliant creators from our Genius Womxn community. Take a listen on Apple here and Spotify here.
P.P.S. This weekend only, I’m running a Black Friday special on my course, Storytellers In Action. Get details here. (Ends midnight tomorrow.)
This week’s joy links:
I’m reading You’re Not Behind, a timely reminder
I’m listening to this Fresh Air episode with Gillian Anderson
I’m watching Sex Education (that I discovered after catching up on everything the altogether brilliant Gillian Anderson has been up to) and it’s an absolute delight