What the heck is Comparisonitis?

There’s hepatitis, tonsillitis, meningitis, pharyngitis, encephalitis, dermatitis, appendicitis and probably a whole lot more ‘itis’ infections we’ve never heard of. But what the heck is Comparisonitis?

A little girl with a thermometer in her mouth, wondering if she has Comparisonitis

Is Comparisonitis as bad as all the other ‘itis’ ailments?

Just as debilitating as other ‘itis’ conditions, but not fixable with medications, is Comparisonitis. You won’t read about it in The Lancet or any other medical journals or text books.

I thought I’d coined the phrase, until I Googled it. But alas, I’m too late. It’s in Wiktionary, Thrive Global, Huff Post, The Wellness Hive and more. So although I’d never consciously heard the word and had never read it, a Google Search returned 3,200,000 results.

But why is it so crippling?

Constant comparing ourselves to others can lead to Imposter Syndrome – yet another non-medical, but very debilitating ailment. When Comparisonitis has us in its clutches, we constantly feel second rate, inferior, sub-standard and a host of other unworthy feelings.

This leads us to believe that the achievements of others surpass our meagre efforts.

How to treat it …

1/ Perhaps we could limit our time on Social Media to avoid the bombardment of the successes of others.

2/ Maybe even take a sabbatical from all Social Media for a week / fortnight / month and see if life, as you knew it, continues.

  • Does it improve your life?
  • Do you have more time to do what you really love?
  • Or do you feel like you’re being left behind?

There’s no right or wrong answer – only YOUR answer. And it should feel Light and Right. The feeling of lightness gives you a clue that you’re on the right path.

3/ Remember that most people only parade their Successes and forget to let you in on the hurdles they had to jump on their way to their Overnight Success. Be consciously aware of this, then it won’t weigh you down.

It’s not a competition 

We all arrived in this world with our own set of talents to share with others. With that in mind, remember you don’t need to be a clone of someone you admire.

Over the past months I’ve followed the Linked In posts of a number of people I admire and from whom I constantly learn. I confess to having an untreated case of Comparisonitis, until I looked at my syndrome with awareness.

We’re not even in the same race …

By doing this, I let go of my desire to be in their shoes because I became aware that I was running a different race to them. How can we possibly compete when we’re not even in the same race? I could now see the foolishness of Comparisonitis.

Interestingly, by letting go of my need to compare myself with others, I feel a freedom to Just be me. When I’m me, I live more appropriately in the NOW.

In this new state of awareness I came to resonate with a comment in the closing pages of Brendan Burchard’s book, The Charge. He says, ‘… be at peace with and fully present with what is.’ 

And thus ended this current bout of Comparisonitis.

If you’re interested in finding out more about Mindset click the link … https://gailruthmiller.com.au/mindset-mentor/

You may also like … https://gailruthmiller.com.au/caught-in-the-shouldve-syndrome/