--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you compare yourself to others, you…" description: "\"If you compare yourself to others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.\" — Max Ehrmann" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1a/max-ehrmann-13726_bitter_if-you-compare-yourself-to-others-you-ma_1956392.png" --- # If you compare yourself to others, you may become vain and… ![“If you compare yourself to others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.” quote by Max Ehrmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1a/max-ehrmann-13726_bitter_if-you-compare-yourself-to-others-you-ma_1956392.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1a/max-ehrmann-13726_bitter_if-you-compare-yourself-to-others-you-ma_1956392.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1a/max-ehrmann-13726_bitter_if-you-compare-yourself-to-others-you-ma_1956392.png) > “If you compare yourself to others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.” [Max Ehrmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-ehrmann/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Comparing yourself to others breeds vanity or bitterness because everyone varies in ability. **In simple terms:** Avoid comparison to stay content. Key Takeaway Focus on personal growth. Themes self‑acceptance humility contentment Mood reflective balanced Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - workplace performance - social media use - academic achievement Key Concepts social comparison psychology Questions to Reflect On - What personal standards guide you? - How can you celebrate your unique strengths? A Different Perspective Comparison can motivate healthy improvement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bitter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bitter/) [Bitter Greater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bitter-greater-1091607/) [Compare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compare/) [Compare Vain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compare-vain-1091603/) [Compare Yourself To Others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compare-yourself-to-others/) [Lesser Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lesser-persons-1091605/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/person/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Vain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vain/) [Vain Bitter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vain-bitter-1091606/) ## Related quotes > [If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter - - - for always there will be greater and lesser persons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/if-you-compare-yourself-with-others-you-may-become-vain-or-bitter-for/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-compare-yourself-with-others-you-may-become-vain-and-bitter/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Don't compare yourself to others you have no idea what their journey is all about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawn-abraham/don-t-compare-yourself-to-others-you-have-no-idea-what-their-journey/) [Dawn Abraham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawn-abraham/) > [There is so much pressure to be thin, and you constantly compare yourself to others. But confidence is something that comes with age and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherie-lunghi/there-is-so-much-pressure-to-be-thin-and-you-constantly-compare/) [Cherie Lunghi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherie-lunghi/) > [Dont compare yourself to others. Compare yourself to who you were yesterday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dont-compare-yourself-to-others-compare-yourself-to-who-you-were/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No one else has access to the world you carry around within yourself; you are its custodian and entrance. No one else can see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-donohue/no-one-else-has-access-to-the-world-you-carry-around-within-yourself/) [John O'Donohue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-donohue/) > [Do not compare yourself to others. If you do so, you are insulting yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/do-not-compare-yourself-to-others-if-you-do-so-you-are-insulting/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [It is harmful to compare yourself to others. Others will do that for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wooden/it-is-harmful-to-compare-yourself-to-others-others-will-do-that-for/) [John Wooden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wooden/) > [Ive learned that you shouldnt compare yourself to others...they are more fucked up than you think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana/ive-learned-that-you-shouldnt-compare-yourself-to-others-they-are/) [Ana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana/) > [“But you can’t beat yourself up or compare yourself to others. Remember, the Bible says that the first will be last and the last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-thompson/but-you-can-t-beat-yourself-up-or-compare-yourself-to-others-remember/) [Janice Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-thompson/) > [Never compare yourself to others because God created you perfectly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khat-leen/never-compare-yourself-to-others-because-god-created-you-perfectly/) [Khat Leen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khat-leen/) > [“We all have a life to live! We all have unique and distinctive purposes to fulfill! Everybody has a purpose on earth, and everybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/we-all-have-a-life-to-live-we-all-have-unique-and-distinctive/) [Ernest Agyemang Yeboah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/) > [Don't compare yourself to others,that's when you start to lose confidence to yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhishek-tiwari/don-t-compare-yourself-to-others-that-s-when-you-start-to-lose/) [Abhishek Tiwari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhishek-tiwari/) > [My best advice is to celebrate your own unique features and never put them down. There is beauty in individuality, and it's so important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philomena-kwao/my-best-advice-is-to-celebrate-your-own-unique-features-and-never-put/) [Philomena Kwao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philomena-kwao/) > [“Focus on your work. Do what you're great at. Don't compare yourself to others and or waste time criticizing the lives and work of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/focus-on-your-work-do-what-you-re-great-at-don-t-compare-yourself-to/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) ## More by Max Ehrmann > [Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity & disenchantment it is perennial as the grass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-ehrmann/neither-be-cynical-about-love-for-in-the-face-of-all-aridity/) [Max Ehrmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-ehrmann/) > [I contracted a disease which I have never shaken off. The disease was idealism. Because of it, I did the thing in life I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-ehrmann/i-contracted-a-disease-which-i-have-never-shaken-off-the-disease-was/) [Max Ehrmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-ehrmann/) > [Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-ehrmann/nurture-strength-of-spirit-to-shield-you-in-sudden-misfortune/) [Max Ehrmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-ehrmann/) > [“You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars. In the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-ehrmann/you-are-a-child-of-the-universe-no-less-than-the-trees-and-the-stars/) [Max Ehrmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-ehrmann/) > [I should like, if I could, to leave a humble gift -- a bit of chaste prose that had caught up some noble moods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-ehrmann/i-should-like-if-i-could-to-leave-a-humble-gift-a-bit-of-chaste-prose/) [Max Ehrmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-ehrmann/) > [Speak your truth quietly & clearly; and listen to others, even the dull & ignorant; they too have their story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-ehrmann/speak-your-truth-quietly-clearly-and-listen-to-others-even-the-dull/) [Max Ehrmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-ehrmann/) > [“I see there is a good deal of grandiloquence in my book — my friends and foes have told me. I think it must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-ehrmann/i-see-there-is-a-good-deal-of-grandiloquence-in-my-book-my-friends/) [Max Ehrmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-ehrmann/) > [You are a child of the universe...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-ehrmann/you-are-a-child-of-the-universe/) [Max Ehrmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-ehrmann/) > [“Be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-ehrmann/be-gentle-with-yourself-you-are-a-child-of-the-universe-no-less-than/) [Max Ehrmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-ehrmann/) > [And though age and infirmity overtake me, and I come not within sight of the castle of my dreams, teach me still to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-ehrmann/and-though-age-and-infirmity-overtake-me-and-i-come-not-within-sight/) [Max Ehrmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-ehrmann/) > [Whether of not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-ehrmann/whether-of-not-it-is-clear-to-you-no-doubt-the-universe-is-unfolding/) [Max Ehrmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-ehrmann/) > [“Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-ehrmann/beyond-a-wholesome-discipline-be-gentle-with-yourself-you-are-a-child/) [Max Ehrmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-ehrmann/) > [Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-ehrmann/therefore-be-at-peace-with-god-whatever-you-conceive-him-to-be/) [Max Ehrmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-ehrmann/) > [Forbid that I should judge others, lest I condemn myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-ehrmann/forbid-that-i-should-judge-others-lest-i-condemn-myself/) [Max Ehrmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-ehrmann/) > [“-Desiderata- Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-ehrmann/desiderata-go-placidly-amid-the-noise-and-haste-and-remember-what/) [Max Ehrmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-ehrmann/) [Explore all 49 Max Ehrmann quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-ehrmann/) ## More Bitter quotes > [The cooler days have brought a wistful mood upon him. The smell of coalsmoke in the air at night. Old times, dead years. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-cooler-days-have-brought-a-wistful-mood-upon-him-the-smell-of/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [From the bitter cold winter at Valley Forge, to the mountains of Afghanistan and the deserts of Iraq, our soldiers have courageously answered when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solomon-ortiz/from-the-bitter-cold-winter-at-valley-forge-to-the-mountains-of/) [Solomon Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solomon-ortiz/) > [Don't be bitter. Everybody suffers. If you can accept your suffering then you will understand other people better. Be grateful for pain. Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Troy was a sweet, good man. We just were never destined to be married. We just didn't have the same values. But I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-pleshette/troy-was-a-sweet-good-man-we-just-were-never-destined-to-be-married/) [Suzanne Pleshette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-pleshette/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Holy shadows of the dead, I'm not to blame for your cruel and bitter fate, but the accursed rivalry which brought sister nations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-the-great/holy-shadows-of-the-dead-i-m-not-to-blame-for-your-cruel-and-bitter/) [Alexander the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-the-great/) > [One may have been a fool, but there's no foolishness like being bitter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-norris/one-may-have-been-a-fool-but-there-s-no-foolishness-like-being-bitter/) [Kathleen Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-norris/) > [“I doubt taking in a sullen, bitter, teenage girl with more issues than National Geographic is at the center of the vision board for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katja-millay/i-doubt-taking-in-a-sullen-bitter-teenage-girl-with-more-issues-than/) [Katja Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katja-millay/) > [Tireless passion, fierce jealousy, longing to possess and crush-these alone were left of all his love for Rosalind; these remained to him as payment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/tireless-passion-fierce-jealousy-longing-to-possess-and-crush-these/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [Life is too bitter already, without territories and wars and noble feuds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-too-bitter-already-without-territories-and-wars-and-noble/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [With every interview you feel like you lose a piece of yourself, and with every bad review you become just that little bit more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-march/with-every-interview-you-feel-like-you-lose-a-piece-of-yourself-and/) [Jane March](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-march/) > [“Without the bitter, the sweet ain’t as sweet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/without-the-bitter-the-sweet-ain-t-as-sweet/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I refuse to be one of those artists who, 10 years from now, they're bitter about the rise and the fall of their career.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-bryan/i-refuse-to-be-one-of-those-artists-who-10-years-from-now-they-re/) [Luke Bryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-bryan/) > [“In these days in which we live, when existence has become a thing of infinite complexity and fate, if it slips us a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/in-these-days-in-which-we-live-when-existence-has-become-a-thing-of/) [P.G. 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For a cup brimful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-carmichael/if-a-sudden-jar-can-cause-me-to-speak-an-impatient-unloving-word-then/) [Amy Carmichael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-carmichael/) [Browse all 1,923 Bitter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bitter/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you compare yourself to others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Max Ehrmann" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-ehrmann/if-you-compare-yourself-to-others-you-may-become-vain-and-bitter-for/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bitter" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-ehrmann/if-you-compare-yourself-to-others-you-may-become-vain-and-bitter-for/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1a/max-ehrmann-13726_bitter_if-you-compare-yourself-to-others-you-ma_1956392.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1a/max-ehrmann-13726_bitter_if-you-compare-yourself-to-others-you-ma_1956392.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1a/max-ehrmann-13726_bitter_if-you-compare-yourself-to-others-you-ma_1956392.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you compare yourself to others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and…” — Max Ehrmann", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Max Ehrmann", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-ehrmann/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If you compare yourself to others,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-ehrmann/if-you-compare-yourself-to-others-you-may-become-vain-and-bitter-for/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-ehrmann/if-you-compare-yourself-to-others-you-may-become-vain-and-bitter-for/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```