--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I compare myself with my former self, not…" description: "\"I compare myself with my former self, not with others. Not only that, I tend to compare my current self with the best I have been, which is when I have..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/572/kay-redfield-jamison-1826_bipolar_i-compare-myself-with-my-former-self-not_950828.jpg" --- # I compare myself with my former self, not with others. Not… ![“I compare myself with my former self, not with others. Not only that, I tend to compare my current self with the best I have been, which is when I have been midly manic. When I am my present "normal" self, I am far removed from when I have been my liveliest, most productive, most intense, most…” quote by Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/572/kay-redfield-jamison-1826_bipolar_i-compare-myself-with-my-former-self-not_950828.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/572/kay-redfield-jamison-1826_bipolar_i-compare-myself-with-my-former-self-not_950828.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/572/kay-redfield-jamison-1826_bipolar_i-compare-myself-with-my-former-self-not_950828.jpg) > “I compare myself with my former self, not with others. Not only that, I tend to compare my current self with the best I have been, which is when I have been midly manic. When I am my present "normal" self, I am far removed from when I have been my liveliest, most productive, most intense, most outgoing and effervescent. In sort, for myself, I am a hard act to follow.” [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author encourages comparing oneself to past personal standards rather than to others, recognizing personal growth and change. **In simple terms:** Compare to your own past, not others. Key Takeaway Measure progress against your own best. Themes self‑improvement personal growth mental health self‑comparison Mood reflective introspective Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - therapy sessions - goal setting - journaling - self‑reflection Key Concepts psychology self‑assessment identity Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance self‑comparison with healthy external standards? - What past achievements truly inspire you? A Different Perspective May overlook external benchmarks that can motivate. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bipolar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bipolar/) [Compare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compare/) [Compare Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compare-self-1694729/) [Current Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/current-self-508276/) [Currents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/currents/) [Former](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/former/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Intense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intense/) [Manic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manic/) [Manic Present](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manic-present-1694727/) [Midly Manic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/midly-manic-1694728/) [Normal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/normal/) [Normal Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/normal-self-380975/) [Outgoing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outgoing/) [Productive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/productive/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) ## Related quotes > [If we can stop, listen, and think about what others are seeing in us, we have a great opportunity. We can compare the self…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-goldsmith/if-we-can-stop-listen-and-think-about-what-others-are-seeing-in-us-we/) [Marshall Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-goldsmith/) > [“Do not compare the self of this moment against one from the past, for the you of yesterday is as done and gone as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-j-bailey/do-not-compare-the-self-of-this-moment-against-one-from-the-past-for/) [Joseph J. Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-j-bailey/) > [If you're lazy, you compare your self with the worst. If you're hard working, you compare your self with the best. If you're happy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-re-lazy-you-compare-your-self-with-the-worst-if-you-re-hard/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You must learn to love, respect and believe in yourself. 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I also do think about our… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-ecclestone/bernie-ecclestone-is-the-commercial-rights-holder-so-the-more/) [Bernie Ecclestone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-ecclestone/) ## More by Kay Redfield Jamison > [ “...even though \[my psychiatrist\] understood mor than anyone how much I felt I was losing--in energy, vivacity, and originality--by taking medication, he never was… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/even-though-my-psychiatrist-understood-mor-than-anyone-how-much-i/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [When people are suicidal, their thinking is paralyzed, their options appear spare or nonexistent, their mood is despairing, and hopelessness permeates their entire mental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/when-people-are-suicidal-their-thinking-is-paralyzed-their-options/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [It's more common than not that bipolar illness will start in the teens. 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It quickly came down to a choice between seeing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/i-decided-early-in-graduate-school-that-i-needed-to-do-something/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [When I'm talking about depression, I'm talking about the more severe forms of depression, and I think that conceptualising as a form of grief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/when-i-m-talking-about-depression-i-m-talking-about-the-more-severe/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [An ardent temperament makes one very vulnerable to dreamkillers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/an-ardent-temperament-makes-one-very-vulnerable-to-dreamkillers/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [the intensity, glory, and absolute assuredness if my mind's flight made it very difficult for me to believe once i was better, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/the-intensity-glory-and-absolute-assuredness-if-my-mind-s-flight-made/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [I wish I could explain it so someone could understand it. 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Back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lovelace/in-our-family-whim-wham-is-code-a-defanged-reference-to-any-number-of/) [David Lovelace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lovelace/) [Browse all 373 Bipolar quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bipolar/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I compare myself with my former self, not with others. Not only that, I tend to compare my current self with the best I have been, which is when I have been midly manic. When I am my present \"normal\" self, I am far removed from when I have been my liveliest, most productive, most intense, most outgoing and effervescent. 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