Advise -4
Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not to who
someone
else is today
Jordan Peterson said that.
It’s rule number 4 of his best-selling book, 12 Rules For Life.
“No one else is really like you in any deep sense,” Peterson said. “The conditions of your life truly are unique.”
You have no idea how much time and effort someone else has put into achieving the results you envy.
Channel your envy into purpose.
“The only person you should try to be better than is who you were yesterday.”
The pragmatic principle of this chapter is to consistently bargain with yourself to make small incremental positive changes in your life.
The idea is not only measurable but also fulfilling to see the little gradual improvements in your own life.
“Anyone who isn’t embarrassed of who they were last year probably isn’t learning enough,” says Alain de Botton.
Peterson encourages us to avoid comparing our progress against others but instead against where we previously had been.
It’s a great way to make progress in life.
The human brain has a natural tendency to make comparisons as a system of developing logic and reasoning.
You can’t stop comparing. It’s inevitable.
But you can channel your brain to make a better comparison in your long-term interest, growth, and happiness.
Change the object of comparison to yourself.