Flip Your Script: Turning Comparison into Inspiration
This week, I’m excited to share a guest blog by the wise and wonderful Lisa Robb. When I first met Lisa, her passion and authenticity as a life coach really struck me. Enjoy this great insight about flipping from comparison to inspiration.
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It was late at night. Way past my bedtime. I was lying on the couch obsessively checking my email. I had sent in a speaking proposal for a women and leadership symposium at a world-class university and was waiting to hear back. Waiting is hard. Especially when it’s something we want so badly we can taste it. And so I distracted myself with my full email inbox.
Most of the emails were of little value. “Home updates for less.” “$12 candles. TODAY ONLY.” “$20 Just for You.” But one really stood out to me. It was sent to me by someone I respect. Another coach. I opened it. I read every word. My thoughts turned not to the content, but to the quality. It was good. And then my mind took over. “She is an amazing coach. She’s doing incredible work. Her emails are perfect. Her pictures are awesome. She has amazing offerings.” But this quickly escalated into questioning my worth. “What have you ever done? You suck. You might as well give up now.” Ouch. Comparison can make us feel so terrible about ourselves.
And then a miracle happened.
I stood up. And raised my pointer finger to the sky in a strong and confident gesture as I declared, “NO! I. Choose. Inspiration!” Thank goodness there are people in the world that are doing cool things. Who are paving their own path. Who are staying true to their values. Who act on their creative ideas.
This small act of shutting down the comparison and choosing inspiration changed the trajectory of my life. It was as if someone had handed me eyeglasses for the first time and I realized this is what 20/20 vision looks like. It looks like permission to be exactly where we are. It looks like abundance. It looks like being truly happy for the success of others. It looks like collaboration. It looks like betting on yourself.
We may be running the same race. We don’t always know when and where others started. We start at our own time and place. What can we learn? What inspires us? What brings us joy? Who can we cheer for? When and where others finish has no bearing on our race. It just shows us that it can be done.
Run your own race. Run it with all of your heart. You may be the inspiration the rest of us are looking for.
Lisa Robb is a professional life coach, speaker, and founder of Raining Glitter Coaching, LLC. She works with women who want to discover and develop their potential so they can be confident and fulfilled in life. She earned both her masters degree in Curriculum and Instruction as well as her Professional Life Coaching Certificate from UW-Madison.
