12 Quotes to Inspire You to Focus on Yourself Instead of Others
Sometimes it’s hard not to compare yourself to others. Around you, everyone else seems to know what they want out of life. They’re finding the right relationships and advancing their careers, but you feel lost, unsure of yourself and what direction to head towards. It’s hard to know who you are and where you belong in the world.
You try and do your best but it never seems to be enough. There’s so much pressure to achieve and you find yourself trying to fit within certain molds or expectations.
When you’re feeling this way, it helps to go within. Spending time focusing on others drains your energy and can take away from what your own sense of purpose and passions. So focus instead on what’s important to you, and what you bring to your own life. Because you’re the only person in this world who can be you, which is awesome. We each have our own paths and contributions in life. So spend time working to discover that which is within yourself, the greatness, light, and cultivate that spark.
Here are 12 Quotes to Inspire You to Focus on Yourself Instead of Others
“The way you step up your game is not to worry about the other guy in any situation, because you can’t control the other guy. You only have control over yourself. So it’s like running a race. The energy that it takes to look back and see where the other guys are takes energy away from you. And if they’re too close, it scares you. So, that’s what I would say to my team all the time: Don’t waste your time in the race looking back to see where the other guy is or what the other guy is doing. It’s not about the other guy. It’s about what can you do. You just need to run that race as hard as you can. You need to give it everything you’ve got, all the time, for yourself.”
“Ask yourself if what you’re doing today is getting you closer to where you want to be tomorrow”
“To be nobody but yourself in a world that’s trying its best to make you somebody else is to fight the hardest battle you are ever going to fight. Never stop fighting. ”
“Sometimes it takes dealing with a disability — the trauma, the relearning, the months of rehabilitation therapy — to uncover our true abilities, and how we can put them to use for us in ways we may have never imagined. ”
“Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into the flames of achievement.”
“What if you simply devoted this year to loving yourself more?”
“I cannot say this too strongly: Do not compare yourselves to others. Be true to who you are, and continue to learn with all your might.”
“Life on earth is a whole, yet it expresses itself in unique time-bound bodies, microscopic or visible, plant or animal, extinct or living. So there can be no one place to be. There can be no one way to be, no one way to practice, no one way to learn, no one way to love, no one way to grow or to heal, no one way to live, no one way to feel, no one thing to know or be known. The particulars count.”
“Whatever your passion is, keep doing it. Don’t waste time chasing after success or comparing yourself to others. Every flower blooms at a different pace. Excel at doing what your passion is and only focus on perfecting it. Eventually people will see what you are great at doing, and if you are truly great, success will come chasing after you.”
“Don’t always be appraising yourself, wondering if you are better or worse than other writers. “I will not Reason and Compare,” said Blake; “my business is to Create.” Besides, since you are like no other being ever created since the beginning of Time, you are incomparable.”
“You are perfect. To think anything less is as pointless as a river thinking that it’s got too many curves or that it moves too slowly or that its rapids are too rapid. Says who? You’re on a journey with no defined beginning, middle or end. There are no wrong twists and turns. There is just being. And your job is to be as you as you can be. This is why you’re here. To shy away from who you truly are would leave the world you-less. You are the only you there is and ever will be. I repeat, you are the only you there is and ever will be. Do not deny the world its one and only chance to bask in your brilliance.”
“To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself.”
mclean psychologist, therapist in tysons corner, merrifield, falls church, arlington and vienna
Victoria Chialy Smith, PhD is a licensed clinical psychologist serving the Falls Church, McLean, Great Falls, Vienna, Arlington, Alexandria, and the greater Washington DC region. She provides individual therapy to children, teens, and adults with stress, anxiety, and depression. Our practice provides Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), mindfulness based therapies, and other top, premier evidence-based treatments. Call, email, or schedule an appointment with us online today. We’re happy to help!
1. What drew you to the field of psychological and neuropsychological assessment?
"I was diagnosed with ADHD later in life, while I was in graduate school, and that experience really shaped my passion for assessment. After my diagnosis, I was able to look back at pieces of my childhood that I had previously viewed through the lens of anxiety or “I just didn't try hard enough” and recognize that, in reality, my brain just worked differently.
That's one of the things I love most about testing. So often, people know that something feels different or that they're struggling, but they don't necessarily have the words to explain why. This can be especially true for high-achieving individuals. They may be doing well academically or professionally, while the difficulties show up elsewhere (relationships, work performance, anxiety, self-esteem, effort to mask, etc).
Receiving a diagnosis can be incredibly validating because it gives someone a framework for understanding their experiences. Instead of wondering, “Am I just not trying hard enough?” or “Is everyone else struggling this much too?”, they can recognize that their brain genuinely processes certain things differently. For many of my adult clients, an evaluation is the first time they feel truly understood.
That's also why I tell people that it's never too late to pursue testing. That feeling of validation and being understood is powerful and invaluable, no matter what age. And for providers, if you suspect that there may be something more going on for a client, referring them for an evaluation can be an incredibly helpful next step in their journey."