“Don’t compare yourself to other people.”

If I got a dollar for every time I’ve heard or read a variation of this statement, I’d be chillin’ on an island somewhere, drinking a margarita on my yacht and enjoying the fact that I don’t have to make another dollar in my life.

If I listened and lived out the truth of this statement all the time, I’d save myself a heck of a lot of stress and experience a whole lot more joy.

It’s nice to look to others for inspiration and to learn from them. Even so, there’s a difference between taking advice from things they’ve done, and trying to mimic their every action and obsess over how you measure up.

You are not trying to do the same exact thing as someone else. Even if you have similar goals, you are a different human, with different strengths and weaknesses, personal life, etc. To try to live out someone else’s story is not only redundant, but it’s also not based on reality. After all, you’re only comparing yourself to what your projection is of their life, and usuallyyyy our projections aren’t too accurate.

Embrace what makes you you. Learn from others and add your own flair to it. Keep your gaze forward – obsessing over the people around you won’t help you get anywhere good, trust me on this.

When in doubt, remember your “why.” WHY did you start your goal or journey in the first place? Was it to mimic someone else, or was it bigger than that? I sure hope it was bigger than that. When you are able to remember why you started, you’ll be less distracted. You won’t spend all your time looking to the right or to the left, cuz’ ain’t nobody got time for that.

Go be you. There’s quite literally no one else in the world who can do it better.