“I am not good enough. The other person is better.” This is what you keep telling yourself. How do you know the other person is better than you?

The other person is not better than you. He or she is living his or her life. You live yours. You focus on yourself. Instead of wasting your energy playing comparison game, why not reconnect with yourself. Your soul needs the real you.

You are not going to see how beautiful you are if you keep comparing yourself to another person. It is okay to compare, but don’t forget about your own uniqueness. If you are looking away, how can you see yourself? If you don’t celebrate yourself, do you expect other people to celebrate you? Whatever you want from other people, give it to yourself. If you want love, give it to yourself. You have it. Don’t waste it!

To see yourself as you really are, according to Buddha, “Cast off pretense and self-deception and see yourself as you really are.” Self-deception closes the door to your inner life. It blocks you from knowing who you really are. It stops you from exploring yourself. It stops you from making the right decisions.

It is important to know yourself. Because if you don’t know yourself, you can’t change your life. And to change your life, self-deception is not the way to do it. You must be self-aware. Period.