This Habit Wastes Your Time and Steals Your Energy

Have you ever felt proud and embarrassed  about an area of your life all at the same time? That’s me when it comes to  running.
 

I call it running, because my feet actually leave the ground in a bouncing gait which is unlike walking. I don’t call it running because I’m moving fast.
 
I’d say a disabled turtle mired in molasses wouldn’t lose too badly to me in a race.
 
I’m slow, okay? Really slow.
 
Still, I do pass people on the trail who are moving even slower than I am. (Granted, they are usually elderly or infirm or just out for a stroll, but the fact is, I’m beating someone.)
 
“On your left!” I warn as I pass. Oh, how good that little phrase sounds. I start to feel proud of myself, what with my mighty self-discipline and all.
 
Then some lanky kid or gray-haired little old man blows past me and leaves me in the dust, muttering to myself about how I suck at running.
 

Don’t you and I do this in life? We play the comparison game.

 
It feels good when we get more points than someone else. It feels bad when we lose.
 
Truth is, when we play that game, we always lose.
 
The loss may be more obvious when we find ourselves lacking compared to another. It’s not so obvious when we think we come out looking better than others.
 

Here’s the thing: Pride and self-loathing are two sides of the same coin.

 
It’s a vicious cycle.
 
I can only maintain the delusion of my personal awesomeness for so long, before the accolades fade and I slip back into the dreaded mode of rejection and self-contempt.
 
In Jesus’ time, this was the religion practiced by the Pharisees.
 
A Pharisee was all about looking good and keeping the rules. A Pharisee primped and preened to keep his reputation nice and shiny.
 
Jesus said the Pharisees cleaned the outside of the cup, but left it filthy on the inside. He said they were full of dead men’s bones. (Matthew 23:25-28)
 

Jesus was not impressed with the Pharisees. He still isn’t impressed.

 
So when I live my life based on what people think, and how I compare to those around me, I’m living from the wrong paradigm.
 
 Life is not about measuring ourselves against other people.
 
I’m learning to undo this type of thinking.
 
To go back to the jogging analogy, we can do two positive things to make our daily lives more of a blessing for ourselves and for others.
 

1. First, we can pray for the people we pass on the trail, literally and figuratively. Who knows what obstacles they may be facing? How much pain they endure? What it costs them to get out there and try? Who knows what someone else is overcoming in their spiritual journey?
2. Second, we can rejoice in how well we’re doing, rather than holding impossible goals over our heads. We can speak blessing over ourselves and encourage ourselves with spiritual truth, rather than beating ourselves up.

When we’re hard on ourselves, we’re hard on others, and vice-verso.  Comparison is a no-fun game where everyone loses.
 
I want to stop wasting time and energy comparing myself to other people, and start encouraging others instead.
 
How about you?
 
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