Please Stop Comparing Your Present Self To Your Past Self

You already know it’s dangerous to compare yourself to others. No two journeys are going to look the same. Every person walks at a different pace. It’s much better to compare your current self to the person you were yesterday – but even that can become dangerous if you’re not careful. Even though it’s important to set new goalposts for yourself, to continue to grow each and every day, you don’t want to be too harsh on yourself when you feel like you’re doing worse today than you did yesterday.

Your best is going to look different on different days. Some mornings, you’re going to wake up overflowing with energy and will be able to take on a million tasks without breaking a sweat. Other days, it will be a struggle to climb out of bed without hitting snooze ten times in a row. On the days when your energy is depleted, when you are feeling foggy and exhausted, you’re not going to be as productive as you were on your peppy days. You might feel like you should be able to take on more today than yesterday since you’re older and wiser now, but that’s not always the case.

Today, you might be dealing with more stress than yesterday. You might have gotten less sleep than yesterday. You might be facing different obstacles than yesterday. You don’t want to push yourself too hard when you’re running on fumes. You need to accept that what you are capable of achieving changes based on the hour.

Some days, you are going to surprise yourself with a level of productivity that you never thought was possible. Other days, you’re going to fall short of your own expectations. But you shouldn’t swing between being wildly proud of yourself and deeply disappointed in yourself. Remember that one day alone doesn’t matter. The whole picture matters. Maybe you weren’t able to move forward today, but overall, have you been moving forward? Overall, have you been accomplishing goals? Overall, have you been doing the right thing?

Comparing your present self to your past self can be dangerous when you aren’t recognizing the fact that you have changed as you’ve gotten older. Maybe you have more responsibilities now and have less time to focus on your passions. Maybe you’ve gone through health issues and aren’t able to put in as much work without stopping for breaks. Maybe you’ve been dealing with a loss or your living situation has shifted and you’re still adjusting to the change, so you aren’t able to accomplish what you’ve done in the past. You can’t kick yourself for being lazy or unproductive compared to your past-self when your past-self wasn’t dealing with nearly as many problems as you are now. Go easy on yourself. Be gentle with your heart.

Remember, even though it’s important to grow bit by bit as the days pass, it’s okay if you accomplished more yesterday than you did today. Life isn’t a competition – against anyone else or yourself.