How To Stop Comparing Yourself To Others

We live in a world where comparison is easy, especially in a field like dance, where every movement is scrutinized and every performance is under the spotlight. It’s natural to look at others and think they have it all together – their technique is flawless, their confidence unwavering, their career soaring. But the truth is, no one is perfect. We all have our highs and lows, moments of triumph and moments of struggle. Even the most polished dancers face challenges, and what you see on the surface doesn’t tell the full story. We’re all human, and we each have our own unique journey—one filled with successes, setbacks, and everything in between. The key is to focus on your own growth and celebrate the things that are going well for you, while embracing the areas where you can improve. So, let’s take a step back from the comparisons and honor our own individual paths.

Focus on Your Own Progress: Celebrate your personal growth and small wins instead of measuring yourself against others. Look at your own dance videos and compare yourself to that version of you to see your progress.

Set Individual Goals

Create specific, measurable goals that are unique to your abilities and journey, rather than comparing yourself to someone else’s achievements.

Practice Gratitude

 Shift your focus to appreciating what you have and what you’ve accomplished, instead of what others are doing. Remember why you started in the first place – because it’s fun! And you like it! Right?

Embrace Your Unique Strengths

Recognize that everyone has their own path, and your strengths and talents are what make you unique. And before you say “I’m not unique” – yes, you are.

Limit Social Media Exposure

 Take breaks from social media or curate your feed to avoid constantly seeing other people’s highlight reels. Please. If you do any of these 10 things, this should be the one thing you take the most seriously.

Remember, Social Media Isn’t Reality

 Understand that what others share online often doesn’t reflect their full, authentic lives, and it’s okay to not measure up to that. Comparing your every day life to a highlight reel would be silly.

Read “Pedestals – How to stop putting people on them” here 

Change Your Mindset

Shift from a scarcity mindset to an abundance mindset—there’s enough success for everyone, and their journey doesn’t diminish yours. If someone gets your dream job before you, that doesn’t mean you can’t get there. If someone wins, you don’t automatically lose. If anything, it should motivate you to see that someone you know managed to make it happen, so you now know with 100% certainty that it’s possible.

Surround Yourself with Positive Influences

Spend time with people who uplift you and encourage your personal growth, rather than fueling comparison. This one is huge. Really pay attention to how people make you feel. Even if you can’t figure out exactly what it is about someone – if it doesn’t feel like, trust your intuition.

Read “Relationships – if they don’t support you read this” here

Celebrate Others Without Judging Yourself

Acknowledge and appreciate other people’s achievements without making them a reflection of your own worth or progress. Give compliments, words of affirmations, show up for people’s celebrations and shows. Getting out of your own head is crucial when you fall down the rabbit hole of comparing yourself, and leaning into your community is a great way to do it.

Practice Self-Compassion

Be kind to yourself when feelings of comparison arise. Remember, growth is personal, and it’s okay to take things at your own pace. Reminding yourself of your own and other’s humanity is so extremely important. Noone is a creative magic creature from outer space that’s different than you and I. We’re all just trying to navigate being here on Earth for the first time. And as long as you keep trying and keep showing up, you are 100% doing much better than you think you are.

You got this.

Mathilde

Instagram @mathilde.veje 
E-mail: vejemathilde@gmail.com
Tiktok: @matilda.veje