Looking up to Others vs. Comparing Yourself to Them

I was just reading an article entitled Guard Your Heart Part 2 from the August 2010 edition of Voice of the Covenant magazine. As someone who has tried to play the comparison game plenty of times in the past, this hit home.

"I have learned that while it can be beneficial to look up to the right people, and learn from those who have gone before you in whatever you do, you can't try to be those people. While imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, it's also a wild goose chase. You never quite arrive.

Oh, but when you find your God-given purpose, you find real satisfaction! When you stop trying to be the next somebody else, and start being the first YOU, then you not only find peace when you get there, but you actually enjoy the journey. It's impossible to enjoy your journey when you are trying to be like someone else."

God made you who you are for a reason. It wasn't just whim. Stop putting pressure on yourself to be someone else, or do things just like someone else does them, or live your life the way God has directed someone else to live theirs. What were YOU put here for?