Okay, let’s admit it; we all get a little insecure from time to time. In addition, we’re all competing for something. It might be for that big promotion at work or every time you turn around that same pesky company appears to be copying your every move. It’s also very difficult not to compare ourselves to that freakishly yoked out guy at the gym or that very young and attractive mom who has her makeup and hair nicely done every morning when she drops off the kids at school. “How do they find the time?”
Wouldn’t you just love to know how they do it and how to stay ahead of your competition? I will give you a hint it starts by taking your attention and focus off of them and redirecting it right where it belongs. Take a look in the mirror. Why, you might ask? It is really simple; YOU are your biggest competition. I think if most of us are being honest about our habits and lifestyles we can find a lot of room for improvement. That old saying “you are your own worst enemy” applies to each and every one of us.
We spend way too much of our time comparing ourselves to others. If we took half of that time and focused on self improvement and working on the weaknesses in our businesses, relationships and personal goals we would start gaining on our self imposed competition so quickly we might actually begin to understand how “they find the time.” They find the time because they learned long ago, to quit worrying about what you are doing. They also understand that most of the time these comparisons are not fair or accurate. For example, his metabolism is faster than yours, her house is cleaner than yours because she doesn’t have to work and has more time, or this business can only sell to local customers and that other one sells all over the world. If we were all perfect little clones of each other, these comparisons would make more sense.
I have seen this in my own life for a long time. I rarely compare myself to others and try to focus on the things I can control. Usually the people who are the most successful and definitely the most confident don’t really care that much what anybody else is doing. They have found what works for them. Most of them also don’t mind asking for help or even paying you a compliment for something you’re doing that they find impressive. Why, because they aren’t competing with you. They know their real competition is internal.
If you decide to quit worrying about what “they” are doing andhow “they” are doing it all the time, and start focusing on putting some real work into your personal short comings. You will realize that they have never been your competition at all and you’ve been wasting a lot of your time. The next time you start getting anxiety or begin feeling like your just not measuring up, remember they aren’t the competition at all, your real competitor is staring back at you in mirror.
