No one wants to be robbed. We can be robbed of our merchandise, or our money, of our identity, or of our time. Being robbed makes us feel disrespected and we feel a loss of security or safety. Knowing this, why would we or how could we be robbing ourselves?
If you wake up each day and belittle your accomplishments when you compare yourself to others, you are definitely ROBBING yourself. “How is this robbing?” you may ask. You are robbing yourself of the joy you should be experiencing each and every day. Comparison is the thief of joy. If you were just hired for a new job but you compare it to the “better” paying position that someone else landed, you are robbing yourself from experiencing the joy of landing this job. If you are looking at the mirror of your reflection in your wonderful new outfit and you lament the fact that you don’t have the perfect model body, you are robbing yourself of the joy of being your wonderful unique self. If you are constantly breaking apart your wonderful assets and making yourself feel not as good as someone else, you are totally missing the point. By making yourself feel like a loser you are disrespecting the wonderful creation that is uniquely you. By making yourself feel small by comparison to everything around you, you are reducing your level of security in the world around you. YES, ALWAYS COMPARING YOURSELF TO EVERYONE ELSE IS ROBBING YOU OF YOUR WELL-DESERVED JOY!
If that isn’t bad enough, you are robbing the rest of us too! You are here to be the unique awesome person that you look at in the mirror each day. By always comparing yourself to others, your true radiance as an individual is hidden by a fog of self-doubt and self-loathing. WE NEED YOU! You are here to share gifts, talents, insights, and inspiration that could only come from you. While you are hidden behind this fog, the awesome qualities that you bring to this world cannot be fully expressed.
So, if you are one of the people that refuses to be robbed of your joy, I want to thank you. If you are being robbed or you know of someone else who is being robbed, please help it to stop. Sometimes life may not feel fair and at times it is hard not to be sucked into the “poor me” syndrome. When you feel the joy of this life being sucked away, start making a list of all the things in your life that you can feel grateful for. This can shift your focus away from comparison to acknowledgement of your blessings.