Clear skies. Low 49F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph..

Clear skies. Low 49F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.

I remember being told throughout my childhood that “comparison is the thief of joy.” However, I never really understood that phrase until I came face to face with this happiness-consuming mentality. I just started my first semester of college, and for the first time in my life, I’ve been hit with what seems like wave after wave of insecurity, jealousy, and bitterness. My mind has been filled with swirls of thoughts along the lines of, “I’m so homesick right now, but everyone else seems to be doing just fine,” or “Why are the other girls going out on so many dates and I’m not?” And always, ultimately, “I’m not as pretty or smart or funny or social or talented or (fill in the blank) as them. I’m worthless.” I fixate on a single thought, a comparison to those around me, and then suddenly, I’m on an insecure, jealous, bitter downward spiral until I’ve been robbed of all joy.

I had no idea how to escape such a disheartening mindset, no idea that is until I heard this: “When tempted to compare yourself to others, don’t look around; look up!” It is when we lose eternal perspective, when we forget about our divine nature, our Savior, and the blessings of His gospel, that we get stuck in the trenches of confusion, self-doubt, and envy. If you allow me to rearrange the wording of the scriptures, we find that 2 Corinthians 10:12 teaches, “They are without understanding when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another.” Comparison, it seems, is not only the thief of joy, but also the thief of understanding. And the only way to shed that temporal perspective and restore an eternal understanding is to look up!

This principle is illustrated in the Book of Mormon account of Christ’s visit to the people in the Americas after His resurrection when the people are experiencing a tremendous amount of turmoil and heartache. “And it came to pass, they heard a voice and they cast their eyes round about, for they understood not the voice which they heard…And again the third time they did hear the voice, and they did look steadfastly towards heaven. And behold, the third time they did understand the voice which they heard” (3 Nephi 11:3-6). Perhaps they did physically look up toward the heavens when they heard the voice the third time, but I like to believe that the true moment of understanding came when they stopped looking around at the temporal uncertainties surrounding them and instead “looked up,” regaining an eternal perspective by remembering the truths they’d been taught.

You may have heard of the saying, “The grass is greener on the other side,” but the truth of the matter is that the grass is greenest wherever you water it. The adversary will always, ALWAYS, try to convince us that we aren’t good enough, worthy enough, or just simply enough. By convincing us to look around rather than look up, Satan gains ground in his goal to ensure “that all men might be miserable like unto himself” (2 Nephi 2:27). If you spend your whole life wishing to be in another field, you’ll wither away like the grass under your own feet. However, if instead, you spent your days watering and nourishing and growing your own plot of land, you’d soon discover that the grass where you stand is as glorious as any of the fields you were previously wishing to reside.

The Lord has promised that as we make the efforts to water our fields and become like Him, as we become “full of charity towards all men…and let virtue garnish [our] thoughts unceasingly,” then shall our “confidence wax strong in the presence of God” (D&C 121:45). Be kind. Love thy neighbor as thyself (but don’t forget to also love THYself). Instead of comparing yourself to others, serve them. Look for the good in yourself and those around you. Allow God to work in you and through you. Remember your divine and everlasting identity as a child of the Almighty. It isn’t easy; believe me, I know. But by doing these things, by remembering the immortal truths Christ taught, fixation on temporal worries will die away and be replaced by self-assurance, confidence, peace, and a renewed eternal perspective. Comparison will no longer be the thief of your joy. All you have to do is look up.

Avery Palenske is soaking up all the education she can as a freshman at Brigham Young University. Foxtrot and cha-cha, communication disorders, Korean, how to fall asleep while listening to shrieks and guffaws from the hall, and even which bathrooms are the best on campus (she votes the first floor of the business building), Avery is busy learning all she can both inside the classroom and out, but she always sets aside time to learn about the gospel as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Originally published on frontiersman.com, part of the TownNews Content Exchange.