Comparing old photos of myself…

Have you ever compared yourself to old photos of yourself and wished you were as “fat” as when you thought you were fat when you really weren’t fat at all!?

Listened to a Hidden Brain podcast about comparison, and it blew my mind. We all know that “comparison is the thief of joy.” But, did you know that there are types of comparisons – and that they can be used to our advantage?

There’s “upward comparison” and “downward comparison”. To better understand this, imagine you’re trying to lose weight. If you compare up, you compare yourself to a person who’s lost more weight than you in a shorter amount of time. This might make you feel bad about yourself. If you compare down, you compare yourself to someone who is having a really hard time sticking to her diet and actually gaining weight. This might make you feel better about yourself.

Instead of trying to avoid comparison all together (because we’re humans and we’re going to do it anyway) COMPARE STRATEGICALLY for your advantage! It’s all mindset.

When you want to accomplish more, compare up. You don’t have to feel bad when you compare up to people who are “better than you.” I want you to compare up and use them as your driving force to reach your goals!

When you feel you’ve failed, go ahead and compare down. (Yes, others do actually have it worse than you!) This downward comparison can help you find gratefulness, which honestly, we all need more of.

In this age of ultimate outward comparison (thanks social media), when you can’t avoid it, USE IT.

So what about me and the photos? Honestly, I used to feel really bad about not being as lean as I was in 2012. But then I remember back to how mean I was to the people that loved me because I was always hangry! So, I’m grateful to have a little extra weight on me and carry on as a full functional person who is happy.

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