The Diary Game 5/7/2024 Breaking free from comparison Trap: Embracing Personal Excellence and Authenticity

Good morning everyone. My day yesterday was amazing. I started off with a 30-minute body exercise, then helped my sister install her hair.

After that, I had something to eat, took a bath, and went to work. It was a cold day, and I had to battle with sleep for a while, so I had Kola coffee to keep me warm and boost my energy.

I started off with self development activities and I tell you reading is a great activity and a hobby for me. Reading opens one's eyes and spirit to realities we never imagined influence our lives. And truly, what you do not know destroys you. In this portion of the book, Dr. Myles Monroe talks about mediocrity, a place many settle in just because they are leading on others. Dr. Myles defines mediocrity as a region of life bounded on the north by compromise, on the south by indecision, on the east by past thinking, and on the west by a lack of vision. Mediocrity is so common that those who become exceptional only need to do a little extra. The main reason is comparison.

He describes comparison as a curse that limits us from reaching our full potential. It makes us measure ourselves against the standards and work of others. A lot of us do it without knowing the implications it has on us. Comparison is demeaning because it leaves your potential at the mercy of others, giving them the right to determine and define your success. When we compare ourselves with others, we limit what we can do. You may have a capacity of 180 and the other person has a capacity of 120. By comparing yourself with them, you might decide to operate at 130 and feel accomplished just because you are leading them. This mindset causes us to settle for average (mediocrity). We lose sight of the fact that the competition is with our own capacity and not with others. True success is not measured by how much you have done compared to others, but by what you have done compared to what you could have done. It is 180/180, not 180/120. Success is satisfying your own personal passion and pursuit of personal excellence.

This concept of comparison has trapped many parents. From our childhood, we are compared to our siblings, neighbors' kids, etc. This comparison continues into our teens and turns into a sophisticated, dehumanizing state of competition. We spend our lives comparing our achievements and standards of acceptance with our peers, instead of being ourselves.

Going through this made me realize the mistakes our parents make that keep us in a valley of low self-esteem. It doesn't end with us but often finds its way into the next generation through our parenting, forgetting that we are each different, called to do different things, and operating at different capacities.

It was amazing to learn these basic yet profound truths about how comparison kills. Later, I checked on my sister’s new job, then headed to church for Bible studies. When I got home, it was a blast. We had a conversation with my mother about marriage and choosing a partner. One of the things I took away was never to go for looks alone. If he is someone we can build together with and loves me, even if he is not the most handsome, that is what matters. Looks fade, but the heart never does. We spoke late into the night and went to bed at midnight.