I’m flicking through my art journal as you may know. You might have seen some other videos from this moment and this clothing and this boring gray background. And I found a quote.
A favourite quote on a not favourite art journal page
The page is not that pretty at all. It’s like not even in the top half of my all time favourites. But the quote – I had on my wall in a different way for a long period of time. And it is very helpful, in my opinion.
There is nothing positive to be gained from worrying about how you compare to others
There is nothing positive to be gained from worrying about how you compare to others. There is nothing positive to be gained from worrying about how you compare to
others. Notice the worrying part in there. that’s a bit of a… bells ringing… we’re talking about anxiety probably. And comparing yourself to others – some people who struggle with depression or anxiety might have this tendency – to compare themselves to others.
This damages self esteem
This quote is to remind us that there is nothing positive to be gained by doing that. From worrying about how you compare to others. It will bring down how you feel about yourself instead of raising it, bolstering it, bringing it up. You self esteem will take a hammering every time you do this.
How can I stop comparing?
Now it’s not easy to stop the comparing. It’s not easy to stop the worrying. The first step is to learn to notice when you are doing it. You can’t change what you aren’t aware of. So make the decision that you are going to have a bit of a focus on this negative thinking habit. You will notice every time you start comparing yourself to others in a negative way. That’s all, just notice, for now. You don’t need to do anything more about it yet.
Remembering that you have the goal is an important step
Maybe if you stick it up on your wall, and remind yourself there’s nothing positive to be gained by it, that might make a difference. It works for me. The hardest part for me of working on a goal like this is to remember I am trying to work on it!
That is what I like to do with my art journal. I write down these important things that are helpful for me and because I live on my own and nobody else is around I leave my journal open on that page on the table for a while. Just see it as I go by.
If I do it on another piece of paper and stick it on the wall, which is something else I often do. Just see it. Just give that thought time to kind of sink in and grow roots. Let it grow roots.
Maybe that will work for you too!
