Chapter 1 or Chapter 20

I think it is safe to say that at some point or another in our lives we compare what we have to what someone else has. Growing up we are jealous of the toys other kids have and then in high school it becomes about what clothes you are wearing. There is a point in everyone lives when the track they are on is not the same as all of their peers. Another way of looking at it is that our peers change over time. 

In school you are grouped together with people your own age, but after school your peer group becomes more varied. I can best relate that change in my life to my Yoga Teacher Training. There were ten women in the training and we were all at different parts in our lives; there were working professionals, recently empty-nesters, women going back to school full time, cancer survivors, moms, and ME. I was the youngest in the class by about 8 years and had the least amount of experience in yoga. I had only started yoga a few years before I did teacher training so one of the biggest lessons I learn from teacher training was to not compare my body and abilities to the other students who had been practicing for much longer than I had. 

I was in a different chapter in my life than the rest of my peers were but our paths were crossing. As I've begun to develop my teaching career I've found myself comparing where I am as a teacher to other teachers. I am constantly reminding myself that I've only been teaching for a year and there is no way for me to know where their path took them to get where they are. 

I saw this image online a few weeks ago and it's become my mantra when I find myself thinking "Wow, that teacher has a lot of fans on their facebook page. I should be able to have that many." Or "How on earth can these teachers afford all the training they've done?" I remind myself that I am on a different chapter in my life and in my career and there is no expectation that I should be where they are when they are farther along in their book.

In my classes I frequently tell my students to not compare, what their body can do, to the people around them and I need to start listening to my own advice. I working on applying the reminder I give my students to my own life and career. 

"Don't compare your chapter 1 to someone else's chapter 20." 

Question of the Day: What part of your life do you most frequently compare to others?