If I could tell you just one thing, it would be this: “Do not compare.”
I know, it sounds like a cliché.
But trust me, this is where we’re all meant to arrive one day.
From the beginning, we’ve been compared for grades, for jobs. Companies rank you against other candidates. Parents compare you with your cousin or neighbor’s kid . We ourselves compare the opportunities we had, the houses we live in, the cars we drive, the bank balance, the pay cheque, the vacation spot, even grocery prices.
So, when I say “Don’t compare,” does it make sense?
Yes, it does. Just stay with me for a moment.
You probably made a pros-and-cons list when you picked your subjects in school. You chose degrees, weighed career options. All of that required comparison.
But life has its own kind of exam, one you never consciously signed up for. There’s always a subject, a theme running through it. You won’t be handed a syllabus or a timetable. But if you pay attention, you’ll start to see patterns. Certain situations repeat. Certain lessons come back until you truly learn them. And just when you think you’ve figured it out, life moves you on to the next phase, another subject, another test. Again, not something you choose, but something that chooses you
Now you might ask: If I stop comparing, won’t I lose my edge? Won’t I stop being ambitious? Won’t life become dull?
Not at all.
In fact, the opposite happens. You become calmer, more focused, more powerful.
Not comparing frees you from distractions. It anchors you in your individuality. It reminds you of your uniqueness. The truth is: you were always unique, you just lost sight of it amidst all the noise.
Comparisons pressure us to become someone else. To chase what others have. To succeed the way others did.
But even if no one tells you to stop comparing (no one told me), life eventually brings you to this truth. It shows you that your path, your timing, your challenges, your joys, they are yours alone.
Some people will be married. Some happily. Some will have kids but no money. Others will have wealth but no peace. One will be a CEO. Another will be hunting job. And when you look around without comparing, you’ll finally see: everyone’s life is different. Unrepeatable. Special.
Your mind, your body, your emotions, your journey, are completely your own. That doesn’t make you any less. That makes you You.
I’m telling you this not just to inspire you but to empower you. Because when you stop comparing, you stop doubting your path. You stop measuring your worth against someone else’s story.
Maybe right now you’re feeling a little stuck. Perhaps that’s only because you’re using the wrong benchmark.
So hold your head high, because you’re on unique path. You don’t have what others have. You don’t need what others want. And even if you’re not there yet, you’ll get there.
Just remember, ‘do not compare’.
My niece says it the perfect way, ‘Comparison is the thief of joy’.
