How Do You Measure Up?

We are taught at a very young age that in most of life's milestones, we will be measured. It started with measuring our height and weight as infants, the exact age when we took our first steps or strung our first set of words together to make a sentence. As we continued through our school years, our grades were measured against other students in our class. This determined how we ranked in our intelligence against the rest of the students in the country.

In almost everything we did, there was some sort of statistic that told us whether we were underperforming, at normal range, or exceeding the norm. So, is it any wonder why as adults we find ourselves confused by the message that we need to accept ourselves for who we are and that we are all “unique” in our gifts and strengths? Perhaps if we could measure “uniqueness,” we would feel more confident. Or, perhaps we need to stop comparing ourselves altogether.

I don’t intend to come off like some sort of helicopter parent on a mission to change the school system from grades to pass/fail, or remove scoring from a soccer game. I think measuring ourselves against a goal or objective is healthy and rewarding. Yet, like many things in life, it can have an element of self-deprecation. This is particularly true if we only look at tangible milestones like education, degrees, corporate titles or the amount of hours put in at the office. While some may see these milestones as a determination of self-worth, the true measurement of a person should be based on intangible factors, such as integrity, creativity, passion and care for others. It is these types of characteristics that define how we handle ourselves in good times and in bad. It is these characteristics that will be remembered by those around us.

This isn't always easy to do. We all have times when we feel less confident or insecure about who we are. I find that in these moments, I have to be honest with myself about what really matters. No matter how hard I try, I will never become someone else, so I just need to be the best me I can be.