The person next to you might aim for the same destination, but did they leave from the same place? Or have you gone double their distance?
As humans we like to compare ourselves to the people walking next to us. But comparing ourselves is not always necessary and neither is it always fair. Maybe you are heading into the same direction but you might have had to work double so hard in order to barely reach the same situation as they started with. For example your friend is going to buy a house at a very young age because he has received some starting support from their parents. While you may have worked part-time during your studies you aren’t able to take the same step yet without burdening yourself too much.
I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination. – Jimmy Dean
Don’t follow what others are doing or you might come short of hitting your goal. You alone can understand what you need to do in order to reach your goal, no one is the same as you so you always have to experiment yourself. An example everyone can become healthy but they way to achieve it could be even slightly different from someone else. While your friend might be able to have only one cheat meal a week, , some could get there with an entire cheat day and you might prefer to have 2 days with one cheat meal. It’s not only the negative effects of the cheat meal you have to count on but also look at the benefit that you will feel less restrained, you will feel more happiness that you can eat what you want that one time.
As long as you acknowledge where you are coming from you can set the plan to move in the right direction. If you know your starting point is different from others you can adjust to your needs. Something that is important to consider when you think about what you should do is next is looking to people who were in a similar situation as you. People living in the same neighbourhood, with the same upbringing and the same financial situation could have nearly similar disadvantages to you. However don’t neglect the fact that despite they might seem to be in the same situation that they are not always in the same situation.