Why self-comparison is important

[Entity]

“BE YOURSELF!”

I want to stop and think about this for a moment, for two reasons, the first is the question “what does that mean?” of course and the second is one which does not occur so often and that is “how can I not be?” The latter question is more important than the former because in reality the latter question is the former question reworded and then put into a context of self-actualization versus a context of self-delusion.

When you ask, “What does it mean to be myself?” the first thing I wonder is if there really is an answer to such a query. After all, you are yourself, even when you ask so ultimately the argument that your behavioral decisions based on your surroundings is something lesser or greater, that you are a fake, or that you can contort yourself beyond yourself seems in my opinion silly. Instead it is asking an impossible question which is fundamentally seeking an external answer to an internal non-problem.

When you ask, “How can I not be?” you however transcend the childish thinking that comes with the notion that you are able to be anything but. Self-help books abounding you get tons of advice on how to advance into this frame of self that is so deep and intuitive but in reality this is all, though their hearts are likely in the right place, conjecture and mythos born of personal experiences. This observation though is important.

Worldwide, regardless of culture, we judge ourselves on hierarchies of ability and worth; whether it’s wealth or knowledge or capability or beauty or anything else it is the same process. So what makes self-comparison important? Well, if we ask the second question, “How can I not be?” and accept that the answer is, “I must be myself, for I am myself, and can be nothing else,” this brings about a revelation that is easily understood. How we define ourselves in this world is externally driven. We only use externalizing language when talking about ourselves. We are, to everyone, including ourselves a bundle of adjectives. Smart. Intelligent. Strong. Fast. The list goes on and on and on.

This brings me to my point. It is imperative that we make the decision to actually acknowledge one another, to compare ourselves, and to embrace our differences. This is not something so simple as sexism and racism and whatever little pet peeve you’ve with society but far, far deeper reaching into the depths of who you are. The reason is because you also carve yourself out of those comparisons, you are not an IQ 231 so thus you are not the person with the highest IQ in the world. You are not the fastest person, the strongest, the wittiest, the funniest, the wisest, and so forth and so on. You don’t even strive to be. But I offer you a dare:

Write a segment about who you are without an externalizing set of terms. Talk about how you look without the adjectives. Speak on how you fit into the world without job titles. Be this “self” without designations and descriptors. I would hope you could not. Self-expression is, at its core, the willingness to enter into a theater of comparating attitudes and beliefs and see who aligns and who disagrees. It makes one no less themselves to do this but it does make them exist the narcissism of self-divinity to be reduced to a pile of adjectives and achievements that others may understand.

This should be inspiring, not demoralizing, though a lot feel it is defeating. We talk about personality and liking people for who they are and all sorts of things in the modern day but I would welcome you to, for a moment, challenge the notion that you are indeed some aware divinity and bring you back to Earth where you will find that even you cannot answer “who am I?” because it’s a senseless question! On what level do you think you can truly answer someone else’s true self? This is not to say that what one sees is unimportant or that one cannot judge things somewhat accurately but it is to say that the way we feel about ourselves as individuals has gone awry.

We are so afraid, as people, to be defined by external forces that we have given up our internal right to self. We are so concerned with dreaming of Ghandi that we do not note that we are no better, no worse, no greater, no smaller, and no less impactful. So wrapped up with Einstein that we do not note that we too could have insight, and that all insight is valuable, and that there is no reason why one name in history is truly better than another. Even the way we study our world is wrapped in achievement, and while it is not bad to acknowledge what one does, it is terrible to live under the weight of comparison rather than be freed by the compassion of comparison.

Comparison only becomes one of the best tools for growth if we are not in constant competition.

[kaangah]

Comparison only becomes one of the best tools for growth if we are not in constant competition. Very true. but it depends on the individual. You can compare and try to better yourself that way or you can compare and make it get you down. Copying is the oldest and best form of learning in my humble opinion