Happy Monday! I hope your week was fantastic. I want to share a little thought on comparison! This topic has been on my mind a lot lately, and I see it constantly in moms. I feel it is such a hard thing to overcome, but if you can change your thoughts and stop comparing, it can completely free you and bring added joy to your life.
Theodore Roosevelt said that “Comparison is the thief of joy!”
What do we as moms compare? Let me give you a couple examples to get your mind thinking of how you find yourself comparing.
- Do you compare your child to the neighbors child who is excelling in reading but yours is struggling.
- When you walk in your friends home do you notice how clean it is and suddenly feel overwhelmed and inadequate as you think of the mess you left behind in your own home?
- Do you look at a friend of yours and notice how great she looks from her hair to her weight and you suddenly are feeling you must be falling short somehow.
- What about when your child is playing sports but is falling behind his best friend so you think there must be something you or your child is doing wrong.
I want you to read each of these items above and think about how you would feel at the end of each of these scenerios.
Each and every time you compare, you will lose some joy within you!
Isn’t that amazing? Why do we do this to ourselves! We have so much to worry about, comparing ourselves to others shouldn’t be added to that worrisome list!
I remember when my husband and I were first married, we lived in an older home that we remodeled. It was so fun to work and live there with my husband and small children. I loved our home and the uniqueness of it all.
My thoughts would change, however, when I would visit my brothers home, and a cousins newly built home that was beautifully decorated, and smelled of fresh paint and new carpet. I remember every time I came home my thought would feel with dissatisfaction. Comparing my circumstance to theirs was ultimately robbing myself of joy.
I didn’t even realize I was doing it til later on in life. I loved my life and my home, but I allowed those thoughts to come in and steal some of that joy! As I have grown and experienced life, I have learned that everyone is on their own journey and there is no way you can compare one thing to the next. Each individual is so unique and special.
Your thoughts are what determines how you feel and you can be in complete control of those thoughts. We are all on the same path, but each of us are on different parts and in different directions. Instead of letting comparing thoughts enter your mind, find ways to encourage, listen and uplift those around you. You will find a peace and joy that you didn’t have before!