Why Do I Keep Comparing Myself to Others? – The Bhagavad Gita Answers
Riya Kumari | Mar 18, 2025, 13:46 IST
( Image credit : Times Life Bureau )
You know the feeling. You wake up, check your phone, and boom—someone you barely remember from high school just bought a house, got a six-pack, and casually started a business that’s probably saving orphans and puppies. Meanwhile, you’re over here, celebrating the fact that you didn’t burn your toast this morning. And just like that, your mood does a nosedive, straight into the bottomless pit of Comparison Hell. Because obviously, everyone else is thriving, and you? You’re just... loading.
It happens almost without thinking. You see someone doing better—earning more, looking happier, achieving faster—and suddenly, your own life feels… less. Your victories feel smaller, your pace feels slower, and for some reason, it stings. It’s irrational, even exhausting, yet we do it anyway. Comparison is one of the most persistent battles of the human mind, and it doesn’t just belong to our generation. Even thousands of years ago, before Instagram, before LinkedIn success stories, before perfectly curated vacation photos—people struggled with the same question: Why does their life seem better than mine? And the Bhagavad Gita, a text that understands human nature better than we understand ourselves, has been answering this question for centuries.
1. You Cannot Live Another Person’s Life
Krishna tells Arjuna in Chapter 3, Verse 35:
"It is better to live your own destiny imperfectly than to live an imitation of somebody else’s life with perfection."
It’s a truth we recognize deep down, yet struggle to accept. We believe if we just follow the same formula—if we achieve what they did, in the way they did—we will find the same fulfillment. But life does not work that way. Every person is here to walk a path that only they can walk. The moment you start measuring yourself against someone else, you begin walking away from your own purpose. And what’s the use of winning a race that was never meant for you?
2. The Illusion of “They Have It Better”
In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna speaks of Maya—illusion. And one of the most powerful illusions of our time is the belief that others have it easier, that they are moving forward while we are standing still. But here’s what we forget: every single person is carrying something unseen. No one’s life is as effortless as it appears. The friend who seems wildly successful? They are dealing with battles you don’t know about. The person who seems happier than you? They have quiet doubts that don’t make it to social media. We don’t see the whole story. We see what is shown. And we compare our full reality to their best moments. It is not a fair fight.
3. Your Dharma is Not Theirs
Krishna repeatedly reminds Arjuna that every individual has their own Dharma—their own path, responsibility, and journey. You weren’t meant to have their life. You weren’t meant to succeed at their speed. You weren’t meant to bloom in their season. You were meant to experience life in a way that is entirely your own. Imagine a tree looking at another tree and thinking, “They started blooming before me. Maybe I am failing.” It sounds absurd because nature does not rush. A tree does not compete with the tree beside it. It grows at its own pace. And so should we.
4. The Ego Wants to Compete. The Soul Wants to Grow.
Comparison is the ego’s game. The ego thrives on measuring, ranking, proving. It wants to be better, faster, stronger. And when it sees someone ahead, it panics. But the soul is not here to compete. It is here to grow. The only real question is not, “Am I ahead of others?” but “Am I ahead of who I was yesterday?” That is the only race that matters. And the irony? The moment you stop comparing, you free up all the energy that was wasted in self-doubt and insecurity. You stop chasing, and you start becoming.
5. The Only Timeline That Exists is Yours
There is no universal timeline. The Bhagavad Gita reminds us that everything unfolds at the right moment. Some people find success early, others later. Some people figure themselves out at 20, others at 60. There is no rulebook, no single path, no “correct” way to live a life. And if we could truly accept this, so much suffering would disappear. We are not late. We are not behind. We are exactly where we need to be.
Krishna Would Tell You to Look Inward
If Krishna were sitting across from you right now, he wouldn’t tell you to move faster, to achieve more, to match someone else’s pace. He would tell you to turn inward. To ask yourself what truly matters. To stop looking at the next person’s life and start living your own. Because the only real tragedy is not being slower than someone else. It is spending your entire life chasing someone else’s path, only to realize—too late—it was never yours to begin with.
1. You Cannot Live Another Person’s Life
Path
( Image credit : Pexels )
Krishna tells Arjuna in Chapter 3, Verse 35:
"It is better to live your own destiny imperfectly than to live an imitation of somebody else’s life with perfection."
It’s a truth we recognize deep down, yet struggle to accept. We believe if we just follow the same formula—if we achieve what they did, in the way they did—we will find the same fulfillment. But life does not work that way. Every person is here to walk a path that only they can walk. The moment you start measuring yourself against someone else, you begin walking away from your own purpose. And what’s the use of winning a race that was never meant for you?
2. The Illusion of “They Have It Better”
Cry
( Image credit : Pexels )
In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna speaks of Maya—illusion. And one of the most powerful illusions of our time is the belief that others have it easier, that they are moving forward while we are standing still. But here’s what we forget: every single person is carrying something unseen. No one’s life is as effortless as it appears. The friend who seems wildly successful? They are dealing with battles you don’t know about. The person who seems happier than you? They have quiet doubts that don’t make it to social media. We don’t see the whole story. We see what is shown. And we compare our full reality to their best moments. It is not a fair fight.
3. Your Dharma is Not Theirs
Unique
( Image credit : Pexels )
Krishna repeatedly reminds Arjuna that every individual has their own Dharma—their own path, responsibility, and journey. You weren’t meant to have their life. You weren’t meant to succeed at their speed. You weren’t meant to bloom in their season. You were meant to experience life in a way that is entirely your own. Imagine a tree looking at another tree and thinking, “They started blooming before me. Maybe I am failing.” It sounds absurd because nature does not rush. A tree does not compete with the tree beside it. It grows at its own pace. And so should we.
4. The Ego Wants to Compete. The Soul Wants to Grow.
Happy
( Image credit : Pexels )
Comparison is the ego’s game. The ego thrives on measuring, ranking, proving. It wants to be better, faster, stronger. And when it sees someone ahead, it panics. But the soul is not here to compete. It is here to grow. The only real question is not, “Am I ahead of others?” but “Am I ahead of who I was yesterday?” That is the only race that matters. And the irony? The moment you stop comparing, you free up all the energy that was wasted in self-doubt and insecurity. You stop chasing, and you start becoming.
5. The Only Timeline That Exists is Yours
Late
( Image credit : Pexels )
There is no universal timeline. The Bhagavad Gita reminds us that everything unfolds at the right moment. Some people find success early, others later. Some people figure themselves out at 20, others at 60. There is no rulebook, no single path, no “correct” way to live a life. And if we could truly accept this, so much suffering would disappear. We are not late. We are not behind. We are exactly where we need to be.