Humans are competitive creatures, and we are always striving to do better and be better. This is a wonderful thing most of the time because that competitive nature is the driving force behind ingenuity and innovation. Competition usually involves a measure of comparison, measuring ourselves and our capabilities against those of other people. In some cases, this can be a positive thing because it encourages us to push ourselves to excel.
However, comparison and competition can easily devolve into a destructive pattern as we try to push others down in order to pull ourselves up to the next level. We begin balancing our self-worth on a precarious fulcrum, feeling good about ourselves when we seem to have the upper hand, or feeling badly about ourselves when others seem to be superior in some way.
If you too struggle with comparing yourself to others and find yourself lacking much of the time, or if you can only feel good about yourself when you seem to be superior to others in some way, you may find it helpful to turn your competitive focus inward instead.
Think back across your life to the person you were five years ago, ten years ago, or more. How much stronger, wiser, more skilled, and more successful have you become since then? Now think ahead to the next five or ten years, and consider how much more successful you would like to become, compared to where you are now. Consider what would need to change in order for you to reach the level of success you desire, and make that your goal.
Do you need to be more focused, dedicated, disciplined, or courageous? Do you need to develop better communication skills? Do you need to believe in yourself more? Every day, assess your current skills and abilities, and strive to build on them and to do better and be better in all of your endeavors.
This also goes beyond your performance in sports, business, or academics. True success is not dependent on mere monetary gain or status, and it’s not limited to your activities. Success is much more about the person you are and the way you show up in the world. It’s about being the best you can be, while also helping others to be the best they can be. It’s about developing your character and integrity and using your success and affluence to improve the world around you.
If you will make it your sole mission to keep getting better than you were yesterday, in all things, you should find that you start caring less about competing against others. You may even find yourself cheering them on and feeling glad about their success, just because you are no longer seeing their success as a signal that your own is lacking.
Remember, the only person you should ever compete with is who you were yesterday. And as the old saying goes, what goes around, comes around. When you strive to do good things, more goodness will be drawn back to you, creating a win-win for everyone involved.
