Heeding The Voice of Authenticity, XI

Comparison

Welcome back to this 12-part series of Journal Prompts to help you hear your Authentic Inner Voice and find your Calling and Purpose. If you have missed the introduction in Part I, you can find and read it here.

11.Where Are You Comparing Yourself To Others?

Comparisons can take all joy and freshness out of creative and unique ways of showing up to life.

The minute we compare ourselves, our actions and creations to anyone or anything, we have sacrificed our authenticity, casting instead a shadow of doubt and unworthiness over what should be our valued and treasured expressions of self.

We lose sight of honoring the nuanced and distinctive perspectives and contributions of each individual, unique and unmatched like snowflakes, giving away the power of knowing our self-worth by trying to read and measure our value in the eyes of others.

On our quest for our Authentic Self, our Purpose and Passion, this simply won’t do!

Reclaim your one-and-only Voice and self-expression, no matter how peculiar, eccentric and uncommon it may appear to others. You are here to be you - all of you, not a little bit you and a lot of other.

So - go find all of the ways and places in which you have forgotten to honor your uniqueness by taking a look at where and how you keep comparing yourself to others, using yardsticks for success that could not begin to measure what you are up to with your life.

As long as you give your best to any situation facing you, you have succeeded. There will always be room for growth and improvement - that is just a fact of life. But when you stop comparing yourself to others and bring your attention and value back to wherever you are currently at with any given skill, creation or appearance, you bring the joy and satisfaction back to giving something all you’ve got, just because you want to, just because you can, and feeling the worthiness of this singular accomplishment.

Journal Prompts:

make a list of all the ways you keep comparing yourself to others. In which areas of your life do you feel particularly insecure, where do you feel you need the most approval?
find ways to accept yourself as you are and appreciate where you are at. Practice seeing the positive things about yourself and the way you act and create in the world; value the effort you put into it…
identify which aspects are actually authentically important to you and which ones are not (e.g. ‘I DO want to become a better musician because I enjoy the skill & ability to express myself through music…but I do NOT really need a Fan-club, a title, recognition or to be rich to feel happy and worthy with my musical accomplishments…’)
make a list of those you admire; use these examples of others you feel are ‘better’ than you as an inspiration and as teachers instead of comparing yourself to them.
if possible, learn about the stories of those you admire; what did it take for them to get to where they are now? What struggles did they have, maybe still do have? It’s quite illuminating to see that even our most adored idols are human, with a background of challenges all their own…
look back and take stock - how much have you changed, grown and ‘improved’ over the past months, years, decades? Acknowledge how far you have come and that progress is happening, even if you can’t see it in the moment…
focus on the areas that really matter to you & let go of the others - you are meant to be the best version of YOU, not ‘them’…

Join me in the following Posts in this 12- step series, where we will continue unveiling the layers to reveal the beautiful, unique expression of our most Authentic Self…