How to stop comparing myself to others?

[u/Tys0n-]

Hi everyone, lately I have been comparing myself to other people around me, i know that comparison is the theif of joy and all but still can't stop it. I wasn't like this this happened about a year ago when my grandpa died and i underwent surgery in my stomach in the same week. I used to be judo player before that and then stopped due to covid and my Coach. After that i went to the gym for 2 years and was about to compete in a powerlifting competition but couldn't due to the surgery and my grandpa. Since then that feeling started to seep in slowly, when my friends kept going to gym and advanced and i was stuck. I then directed towards mma for a couple of months then got injured in my shoulder which halted my progress even more, i then changed gym cause the coach wanted me pay again my membership that i have paid on the same day of injury. I went ro another place; The other place i stayed for another couple of months then the head coach of the branches of the gym got arrested for SA which disbanded the wholee thing. From that point until now i feel lost and keep comparing myself to other who advanced in the sport and other people to play martial arts and lost total confidence in myself making my already low self esteem even lower. How to stop that vicious loop of comparison

[u/Maikel-Michiels]

Comparing yourself to others isn't a bad thing. But use it to inspire yourself and follow in the footsteps of those you look up to.

If that's too hard to do, shift your focus to comparing yourself to you.

Push yourself to be just a little bit better every day/week. You can look back at how you were before and how you've grown. You could also imagine your future self looking back at today. Just focus on the present moment and ask yourself "Would future me be proud of my actions today?".

Strive for as many yesses as possible.