Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): Si dejo de compararme con otras personas, estoy más satisfecho y avanzo a mi propio ritmo. - If I stop comparing myself to other people, I am more satisfied and move forward at my own pace.

Dejo de compararme = I stop comparing myself / I quit comparing myself.
Literally: dejar (to leave/let) + de (of) + compararme (comparing myself).

In Latin American Spanish, dejar de + infinitive is a very common and neutral way to say to stop doing X.

You could also hear parar de + infinitive (e.g. parar de compararme), but:

dejar de is generally more standard and widely used.
parar de may sound more colloquial in some places and is less universal.

So si dejo de compararme is a natural, standard way to say if I stop comparing myself.

Why is it compararme and not just comparar? What is the -me doing there?

The -me makes the verb reflexive: the subject is acting on itself.

comparar = to compare (something / someone)
compararse (con) = to compare oneself (with)

Compararme = to compare myself.

In Spanish, when the subject and object are the same person, you generally use a reflexive pronoun:

Me comparo con otras personas. = I compare myself with other people.
Compararme con otras personas. = (to) compare myself with other people.

So to express compare myself, you need compararme, not plain comparar.

Could the reflexive pronoun go before the verb, like si me dejo de comparar instead of si dejo de compararme?

Grammatically, both are possible, but they don’t feel equally natural:

Si dejo de compararme con otras personas…
Si me dejo de comparar con otras personas…

In this specific sentence, si dejo de compararme is more idiomatic and smoother.

Why?

With dejar de + infinitive, speakers very often attach the pronoun to the infinitive:
- dejo de compararme, dejé de criticarme, va a dejar de quejarse, etc.
Me dejo de comparar is understood, but it can momentarily sound like I allow myself to stop comparing because dejar by itself can also mean to allow / to let:
- Me dejo… can be heard as I let myself….

So, si dejo de compararme is the clearest and most natural here.

Why is it compararme con otras personas and not compararme a otras personas?

With comparar(se), both con and a are used in Spanish, but:

compararse con is the most common and neutral way to say compare oneself with.
compararse a also exists, especially in more literary or formal style, but is less frequent in everyday Latin American speech.

So:

Me comparo con otras personas. ✅ (very natural)
Me comparo a otras personas. ✅ (grammatical, but less usual in everyday conversation)

In Latin American Spanish, compararme con otras personas is exactly what you want.

Why is estoy used instead of soy in estoy más satisfecho?

Estar is used for states, conditions, and feelings, often temporary or changeable.

Estoy más satisfecho = I am more satisfied (as a result of this change; a state I experience).

Ser (soy) is generally used for inherent traits or identity. Being satisfied is usually treated as a state or feeling, not an inherent permanent characteristic, so:

Estoy satisfecho. ✅ (I feel satisfied / I’m in a state of satisfaction.)
Soy satisfecho. ❌ Sounds odd in modern Spanish; used only in some very specific or old-fashioned contexts.

So estoy más satisfecho is the correct, natural choice.

Does satisfecho change for gender and number? What if the speaker is a woman?

Yes, satisfecho is an adjective and must agree in gender and number with the subject:

Singular:

Estoy satisfecho. (man)
Estoy satisfecha. (woman)

Plural:

Estamos satisfechos. (mixed group or all men)
Estamos satisfechas. (all women)

In the sentence:

…estoy más satisfecho…
this suggests the speaker is male.
If a woman is speaking, it would be:
Si dejo de compararme con otras personas, estoy más satisfecha y avanzo a mi propio ritmo.

Why is the verb in the if-clause in the present indicative (si dejo) and not in the subjunctive (si deje) or a future form?

In Spanish, real or likely conditions with si normally use the present indicative, not the subjunctive:

Si dejo de compararme… estoy más satisfecho.
= If I (do) stop comparing myself… I am more satisfied.

This construction is used for:

General truths
Habitual consequences
Likely situations

Possible patterns are:

Si + presente de indicativo → presente
Si + presente de indicativo → futuro
Si + presente de indicativo → imperativo

Using the subjunctive si deje is ungrammatical in this context.
You also don’t say “If I will stop” in Spanish; the present covers that idea.

What kind of condition does this sentence express: something general, something in the future, or hypothetical?

This is a general / habitual condition:

Si dejo de compararme con otras personas, estoy más satisfecho…
= Whenever I stop comparing myself with other people, I am more satisfied…

It expresses a pattern or rule in the speaker’s life, not a single future event.
It’s close to saying:

Whenever I stop comparing myself with others, I end up more satisfied and move forward at my own pace.

What does avanzo convey here exactly? Could it be progreso instead?

Avanzar = to advance, move forward (physically or figuratively).

In context:

avanzo a mi propio ritmo = I move forward / make progress at my own pace.

You could say progreso a mi propio ritmo (I progress at my own pace), and it would be understood and acceptable.
However:

avanzar sounds very natural and common in the sense of progressing in life, in goals, in personal growth:
- Avanzo en mi carrera. (I move forward in my career.)
- Vamos avanzando poco a poco. (We’re making progress little by little.)

So avanzo a mi propio ritmo is a very idiomatic way to express I make progress at my own pace.

What does a mi propio ritmo literally mean? Why is it a and not en?

Literally:

a = at / to
mi = my
propio = own
ritmo = rhythm / pace

So a mi propio ritmo = at my own pace.

Spanish often uses a to express the pace or speed at which something happens:

Voy a mi ritmo. = I go at my (own) pace.
Habla a su propio ritmo. = He/She speaks at his/her own pace.
Corren a gran velocidad. = They run at high speed.

Using en mi propio ritmo would sound strange in this context. A mi propio ritmo is the fixed, idiomatic expression.

Why is propio used? Could you just say a mi ritmo?

A mi ritmo already means at my pace.
A mi propio ritmo adds emphasis: at my *own pace*.

a mi ritmo ✅
a mi propio ritmo ✅ (a bit more expressive/emphatic)

Propio is often added to highlight ownership or individuality:

Mi propio estilo. = my own style.
Su propia manera de pensar. = his/her own way of thinking.

So a mi propio ritmo stresses that the pace is personally yours, not dictated by others.

Why otras personas and not just otras or otra gente?

All of these are possible, but they have slightly different flavors:

otras personas = other people (neutral, explicit word “people”)
otros (alone) often needs context to be clear it means other people:
- Si dejo de compararme con otros… (If I stop comparing myself with others…)
otra gente = other people, but gente is singular and a bit more collective:
- Si dejo de compararme con otra gente…

Otras personas is:

Clear and explicit
Gender-neutral
Very common in somewhat reflective/serious speech

So the choice of otras personas is natural and slightly more formal/clear than just otros or otra gente.

Is the subject pronoun yo omitted in dejo, estoy, avanzo? Could I say Si yo dejo de compararme…?

Yes, yo is omitted, and that’s normal. In Spanish, subject pronouns are usually dropped because the verb ending already shows who the subject is:

dejo = I leave/stop
estoy = I am
avanzo = I advance

So:

Si dejo de compararme… ✅ very natural
Si yo dejo de compararme… ✅ also correct, but you usually add yo:
- for emphasis: Si yo dejo de compararme… (If I stop comparing myself…)
- to contrast with others: Si yo dejo de compararme y ellos no… (If I stop comparing myself and they don’t…)

In the given sentence, omitting yo is the most typical and natural option.