Benefits of habit “Stop comparing yourself to others”
✓ Boosts self-esteem
✓ Reduces anxiety
✓ Improves your body image
✓ Relieves stress
First step:
Once a day
Progress:
✓ Today, when you feel like you start comparing yourself with someone else around you (it can be about your outfit, hairstyle, the way you walk, etc.), actively try and stop the thought. Do so every day for a week or any time the thought comes one.
✓ Next week, start replacing those thoughts of comparison with more positive ones. E.g.: if you don’t feel you dressed well compared to others, tell yourself the honest truth – you dress to feel comfortable. The clothes serve you, not you to them.
✓ Keep this up until you feel you no longer put yourself up against other people for your own harsh judgement.
Helpful tips to make it a habit:
✓ Trigger your mind. While you can’t plan when a thought will come over, you can develop a physical trigger which your mind will take as a signal that it’s time to change course. It can be a stress ball, a pen you can clasp on or just clenching your fist.
✓ Let the app help. You may set the reminder to ring every morning that it’s time to develop a new habit. You may also track the times you missed out and compared yourself to someone else by marking those events in the calendar of this app. That way, you will see the progress you’ve made.
✓ Reward yourself. Once you’ve gone a full month of not comparing yourself to anyone else at all, reward yourself by buying some new clothes or accessories or picking up a new activity you’ve been to self-conscious to do before. Time to celebrate with your new positivity towards yourself.
Tips for beginners:
✓ Social media. It’s easiest to fall into comparison trap via social media. Life is not the same there and you should be aware of that. Lay off the feed for a while during this exercise and see how you feel about yourself.
✓ Ask others. Sometimes, we really are our own harshest critics and reality may be completely different. Take a risk and ask other what they think of the aspect you’ve been self-conscious about. You may find it’s not as bad as you think.
✓ Change. If you REALLY feel inferior in some way and see that it really impedes your life, change that about yourself. Take steps to better yourself and stay on track. Try not to go to extremes, but don’t just sit there feeling bad for yourself. That is the worst you can do.
