Is there a difference between comparing oneself with others and having a role model?
This is the first question that came to my mind when I saw the prompt for #augustinleo today, day 13. I don't think there is much difference if there is any at all. Speaking myself, I would say living a life of comparison with others is a good one but it's the actions that follow that matter. What do I mean? It's fine if I compare myself with the richest man in the world every day when I wake up but it's left for me to work towards being like him, and the actions that follow are the methods I would take to achieve my goal. Will I become an entrepreneur or working under a boss(positive) or would I become a drug baron, or thief(negative) just to be like the richest man?
Every human is unique, no two persons even Siamese twins can be completely alike in every physical and emotional feature. Ever since I was a child, I've always dreamed of becoming a footballer someday and I would always compare myself with Ronaldo anytime I get to play in the pitch. Most times when I watch my role model play(Ronaldo), I would just cram all his skills and movement, when I get to the pitch and perform them, I would be the man of the match.
Comparing oneself with others could be negative or positive depending on the individuals and what they focus on.
I would classify self-comparison into two categories and they are negative and positive. The negative will always hurt the individual including jealousy while the positive is the vice versa.
I have been a victim of the negative side effects of negative self-comparison. Back then when my friends and I used to go for weekend swimming at the pool, Michael and I used to compare ourselves with this guy called C-Jay. C-Jay is from a rich home and most of his needs are made available by his parents.
C-Jay was always showing off with his new Gucci shoes and dresses every night when we went for the outing. Michael and I loved his style and we often compared ourselves with him, but we did have the money. We were always trying to look like him, so we used to go for locally made Gucci dresses and shoes which most times wash off in less than a month. Michael and I kept on spending extravagantly till we were tempted to steal from our parents, but thank goodness we never did so. When we realized we were on the wrong path in life (that is, comparing ourselves negatively with someone not in our class) we had to take a U-turn in life.
Comparing oneself with others depends on the individual to be tagged as either a negative or positive comparison.
Comparing myself with C-Jay led me to have feelings of jealousy and low self-esteem whenever I was with him.
But I'm happy I realized myself though not very early as many errors were already done which included spending extravagantly on things I didn't need at that time. It was a great lesson of life.
Comparing oneself with others is never bad, it's rather a way to improve yourself. I can mention many celebrities who I copy today like Ronaldo whose prowess in football is due to his regular practice, I copy him by practicing tirelessly in whatever I do because I know it's a paved path to success.
Thanks for reading.
This is my entry for the #augustinleo prompt for today, day #13.
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