I have found a way to really feel good about myself. I guarantee it will work for you.

Compare yourself to others.

For this to work, you have to compare yourself to the right people … or the wrong people, depending on your perspective.

  • Finances. Compare yourself to someone who makes less money than you.
  • Social Life. Compare yourself to someone with even less friends or followers on social media.
  • Community Status. Compare yourself to someone who lives in a cheaper neighborhood or whose yard looks worse than yours.
  • Smarts. Compare yourself to someone with less education than you … or maybe someone who went to … y’know, that other school.
  • Sports. Compare yourself to … well, use me. No one is worse at athletic endeavors than I am.
  • Talent. Compare yourself to someone who can’t sing as well as you … or can’t juggle three chainsaws like you can.
  • Spiritual Walk. Compare yourself to someone who doesn’t attend church as often as you do … or seems more focused on the things of the world than on the things of Christ.

See how easy it is to play?

But to really succeed at this game, you’ll need to keep blinders on. Be very selective of who you play this comparison game with. Without those blinders, you will frequently see people who are better … smarter … more talented. And if you take the comparison game seriously, you’ll lose all sense of self-esteem.

Let’s face reality. It doesn’t matter how talented or smart or successful you are—and you may truly be talented, smart, and successful—someone out there can best you. So drop the comparison game. It either makes you delusional about your true self or depressed. And neither route is healthy.

At the risk of sounding like Mister Rogers, be yourself. Just be the person God created you to be in the environment He’s placed you. Do what you can to strengthen and improve whatever needs strengthening and improving; but in the end, what matters is that you were faithful to being the person God called you to be.

Jesus told a parable of a man who gave his servants different bags of gold (or “talents,” depending on your translation). The two servants who did well were never compared to each other, but they were commended for being productive with what they had been given.

Don’t focus on what the other person has or doesn’t have. Focus on what you have. If others play the comparison game and look at you as having so much more—or so much less—who cares? What matters is what God says.

“Well done, good and faithful servant!” (Matt. 25:21).

To subscribe to this blog, click on the SUBSCRIBE button at the top of the page. Sign up with only your email address. It’s never sold or given out.