GUEST POST From time to time, we have special guests whose voices we totally love sharing with you. This is a post from Seth Collins, he is a bearded man with a heart of gold who currently serves on staff at Yale Chi Alpha. HIs wonderful wife Brooke, used to live in DC and work with Chi Alpha, so even as we root her on, we miss her deeply! You can follow him on Twitter and Medium.

Water your own garden. And don’t preoccupy yourself with everyone else.

The trap of comparison makes it too easy for us to fall.

Have you ever compared your skills at public speaking to the likes of Steve Jobs? Simon Sinek?

Have you ever compared your guitar playing to that of Prince (God rest his soul)?

What about comparing your marriage to the neighbors across the street?

Face it, we’ve all been there. We’ve all thought, “If I just had Kenny’s job position, THEN I could really provide for my family,” “If I could play guitar like John Mayer, THEN I could really be noticed by recording studios.” etc. etc.

Can I offer a suggestion? Have you ever looked at what YOU have: your position in your company? Your family at home and your role in the family? If not, take a good hard look because where you are and what you have around you can be built up into something amazing and wonderful…

…only if you have the patience, the fortitude, and the dream to see it happen.

Love your spouse with all that is in you. Go on dates. Do the things that made them fall in love with you once again. Verbally tell them how much you care for them and how appreciative you are of them.

When you clock in for work, be all there. Give 100% to your job, your boss, your co-workers. Be a person that affects positive change rather than one who speaks negativity.

And (for sake of title), what can you plant in your own front yard? Sure, the Thompsons may have an immaculate yard, but that doesn’t mean your yard has to suck. Plant some rose bushes. Put a tree down. Tend your own garden instead of complaining about what others are doing.

Because, at the end of the day, you don’t have jurisdiction how another person prospers, but you do have say-so over what happens in your own life.

Carpe diem, folks. Carpe diem.

Originally published on Medium on May 13, 2016. Republished here (with permission) on July 1, 2016.

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