There is no one alive who is youer than you!

Today is Dr. Seuss' birthday! Happy Birthday to one of the greatest children's authors ever!

This quote is one of my favorites from Dr. Seuss: Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you!

When I read this quote today, I started thinking about how sad it is that often we try so hard to be the opposite of who God has created us to be. I think it's amazing that out of the billions of people on this earth, no two people are exactly the same. He has made us all with different features, personalities, talents, and fun quirks. We were all created to be unique and to stand out.

But how many times do we try to blend in. How many times do we try to be "normal" and attempt to be like everyone else. I think we're all guilty of this from time to time...I know I have been!

Too often we look around and compare ourselves and our lives to other people. This is not healthy, and we need to bring an end to it. Comparison is the thief of joy. We are robbed of our joy when we spend our time and energy focusing on how we compare to others. Our looks, our bodies, our talents, our financial situations, our gadgets, our toys, our marriages, our families, our parenting, our relationships, our popularity...the list goes on.

No good can come from comparing ourselves to others.

When we begin comparing ourselves to those around us, we enter a slippery slope. We begin to become discouraged with ourselves and our situation. When we're feeling down about ourselves, we often try to look and find someone who is worse off than we are so we can think to ourselves "Well, at least I'm better than they are!" And sometimes we try to put others down just to make ourselves feel better. It's a viscous cycle.

We need to stop this awful cycle of comparison. 

Let's stop wasting our energy comparing ourselves to others, and instead focus on who God has created us to be...focus on the blessings, the strengths, the talents, and the unique personality and traits he has given us. There is NO ONE alive who is YOUER than YOU! So be the best you that you possibly can be! :)

Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that...Don't compare yourself with others. - Galatians 6:4 MSG

To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.  - E.E. Cummings, 1955

Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.  - Judy Garland

So, let's be ourselves and encourage others to do the same! :)