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Is it time to stop comparing?

Yesterday I went for an early morning walk up our hills nearby. Its about 40 minutes up and 20 minutes down. One of my absolute favourite things to do as I love arriving at my favourite view point and taking 10 minutes to sit by myself and visualize what I want in life. 

On my way up a man ran past me and I wondered to myself how people get so fit that they can run up and down in a matter of minutes. I automatically thought I'd probably never be that fit, however as I took over an older lady I felt a bit better about myself - so strange, comparing myself and my fitness level to two complete strangers of very different ages and fitness stages. 

It made me realize how easy it is to unconsciously compare ourselves to others in many different ways. It made me reflect on how we do this in life. For some people, life is about getting to the top as quick as they possibly can. They don't stop to look at the view, they don't even stop when they get to the top but instead continue until they get to their destination. Other people take their time, they sit on the bench for a while, soaking up the view. They stop to watch the cows and sheep (in New Zealand anyway), and maybe they don't even make it to the top, some just make it to the first hill and that's good enough for them. Neither way is right or wrong or better or worse, it's all based on how people want to climb their own hill and live their own life. So why on earth do we compare ourselves to how other people decide to climb their hill? Isn't it strange? I find I do this far too often. It's like comparing winter in England to Summer in South Africa, they are completely different things, therefore its totally irrelevant and useless. 

As I climbed up my hill at my own pace, listening to my own choice of music, I realized that I am someone who likes to walk fast but also stop to take pictures of the beauty I'm surrounded by. 

I found out that I'm quite happy to not actually touch the top of the hill but to be close enough that I get to look back at what I've achieved and soak up the view below. I don't need to reach the official top point to feel successful and I don't want to turn back too soon either, I just want to enjoy every moment of my journey and smile at people as I go past them. So why don't I simply stop comparing the pace of my journey to everyone else's? Courtney Carver wrote in her book "Ask your heart how comparing has served you. If it hasn't, let it go". It really can be as simple and empowering as that. 


My spot to sit and visualize - not the top of the hill that's populated with fitness freaks but high enough to feel on top of the world and quiet enough to hear the birds sing. 
 
 

Comments

  1. UnknownJanuary 2, 2020 at 11:41 AM

    Very emotional reading this as the truth of this sang in my heart so deeply! Thank you! Thank you!

    ReplyDelete

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