I’ve just seen the first Christmas decorations of the year in a couple of local shops and so, it looks like the festive season has begun in late October…  Either way, this time gets me thinking about lots of people buying presents for family and friends for what can be one of the loveliest times of the year. And yet, there can also be pressure to buy and receive things that are bigger and better than everybody else’s and yet, it is this element of how we live which I would like to discuss during this period more than ever.

Why do we need to buy, get or even be ‘more’ anything than anybody else? To quote both Daft Punk and Kanye West, do we really need to be ‘harder, better, faster and stronger’ than anybody else? Being yourself and believing in yourself can be a wonderful place to be. I’m not advocating an utterly minimal Christmas and fully acknowledge that wanting ‘more’ for yourself can be an ambitious and positive quality, benefiting not only yourself, but also the wider community.

However, how many people only compare themselves to others? The concerning thing is that they do not know how well they are doing if they can’t compare themselves with others? Viewing the world through these filters of insecurity and negativity can be a damaging process.

What makes what others have ‘better’ than what we have? What would happen if we altered the ‘filters’ we have to view the world from negative to positive? They would still have what they have. We would still have what we have. It would simply be our perception of the situation that would be different.

So take a moment and ask yourself – what could you make happen if you truly believed in the immense power of your own potential?