Personal Reflections
BSHS/345
Shannon Tarr
February 22, 2015
Elaine McClullough
“Invidious comparison is comparing oneself to others by race, sex, religion, and class. Invidious comparison can leave a negative effect on both people involved leaving them to feel lesser of themselves, it can also make you feel depressed and stressed” ("How To Stop Comparing Yourself To Other People: The Definitive Guide To Self Improvement ", 2014). Unfortunately it is something that we all have done at one time or another, whether we do it conscientiously, or unconscientiously. What we don’t realize is that we are potentially, and most likely comparing ourselves with false data, for instance the term “Keeping up with the Jones’.” What we don’t see is that the Jones’ are trying to keep up with the Smiths, the Smiths are trying to keep up with the Browns and so. If you keep comparing yourself you’ll always find somebody that will be above you, and it’s a game you can’t win. It’s a loop that will never end unless you start doing what you want to be doing. The only way invidious comparison can be stopped is to focus on your own journey. Your journey is no better or worse than anybody else’s. It’s yours and yours alone. It’s unique, it’s different, and it’s one that has never been taken, nor ever will be. Nobody has lived your exact same life, has had your exact same experiences that make up who you are today. Focus on what you want and only what you want. That’s it, it’s your journey. Other people will have their own to follow, and even after all that, if you still feel the urge to compare yourself, compare yourself in terms of your own journey, such as how far you have gotten, what you’ve learned, how you have grown, and you will find that will prove to be one of the greatest achievements you will ever use in your life.
“Vicarious traumatization is the process of change that happens because you care about other...