Comparison.

Whether we want to admit it or not, we as women tend to naturally compare ourselves to other women.

But why?

I ask myself this all the time. Why is it that we feel the need to compare ourselves? I mean, if we’re honest with ourselves, we’re all facing the same issues and insecurities. Instead of comparing ourselves, we should be building each other up, not tearing each other down.

The problem with comparison is that we often downplay the strengths of others in order to magnify our own.

No matter how pretty or smart or funny or talented you are, there will always be someone who appears to have things better. That’s the honest truth. When we obsess over the things we don’t have, we overlook the gifts that God has specifically given to us. Sometimes we think that by recognizing how incredible another person is, we will somehow make ourselves less valuable or less important.

The truth is, building up other women and encouraging them to pursue their God-given dreams and goals only solidifies who you are. You will not become less of a person for seeing the worth in someone else. The Bible says not to compare ourselves among ourselves. We must not forget that we were created uniquely for a specific purpose. If all of us had the same talents and gifts, the world would be boring and we would all be useless! There is such a beauty in uniqueness, in knowing that each and every person has a purpose in the kingdom.

You may think that That Girl has it all. You may think that she has life all figured out and that there is no way that she ever doubts herself or feels insecure. You might be jealous of her, and you may actually start to resent her because you feel she doesn’t deserve the life she lives. But the problem with a the-grass-is-greener-on-the-other-side mentality is that you’ve never actually been on her side of the fence. You’ve never experienced the heartache and the hurt that she goes through behind the scenes. Maybe “That Girl” has had to go through unimaginable pain to get to wear she is.

But you’ll never know that.

Often, we compare ourselves to people who have been through heartache and turmoil and trials to get to where they are.

We only see the finished product. We don’t see the blood, sweat, and tears that molded them into who they are today.

That’s the danger of comparison.

We see the white picket fence, and we automatically assume that her life must be picture-perfect–but we don’t see the broken marriage, or the shattered heart, or the turmoil that’s happening on the inside.

The bottom line is this: Everyone has things that they dislike about their life.

Everyone has a list of things they wish they could change about themselves.

The truth is, That Girl you wish you could be like, the one you compare yourself to, probably wishes she could be more like someone else–maybe even like you!

Don’t lose who God has called you to be trying to be someone else. God didn’t call you to be That Girl; He called you to be the best version of you that you possibly can be.

Don’t ever forget that.

image via Jenna Kutcher on Instagram