It is sad to see people focusing so much on the thoughts of "who is doing better than them," while they forget the very fundamental question; "are you doing better than you were in the past?" The level of competition being exhibited in this era is becoming alarming. When someone senses that someone else is doing better than them, they feel left behind. What they fail to understand is that they should not measure their worth against the progress of others. That your friends have gotten to their destination does not invalidate your journey. Moreover, both of you have different goals, aspirations, destinies, and pathway in life. If you are to compete, then it has to be against yourself. That is, to be better than you were.
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Everyone has things that make them different; like their background, their beliefs, their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities etc. Life does not give everyone the same starting point, so it will be counterproductive to run your race in the track of someone else. Your focus is not to be better than someone else, but you should focus on becoming better then you were in the past. In that way, progress is being made. When you change your mindset from competing with people to competing with yourself, your life will change. Pressures will be reduced, your vision will become more clear, and your progresses will just flow naturally.
You should know that each time you compare yourself to someone, what you are doing is that you are using their destination to judge your journey. Imagine a bird trying to compare itself with a fish, it will begin to face frustration, because it will never be able to swim. You will be surprised how lots of people face unnecessary pressure in their life because they want to become like someone else, and because they judge their journey with someone else's story. Imagine comparing yourself with someone who you know nothing about their sacrifices, struggles, efforts, late nights, and the battles they are fighting. Your motivation should not be anchored on the outside, but it should be anchored within you. You tend to grow faster when you direct your energy inwards towards your own improvement.
What a lot of people fail to understand is that even if they have beaten someone's record but have not beaten their own past record of yesterday, they have not really improved. Your yardstick is not someone else but yourself. This is why you have to set goals and be determined to hit your target. Even if you improve just 5% of what you were last week, it will still be counted for you as victory. It can be learning a new skill, saving some money from your income, starting a new business, even learning from your past mistakes - all these are progresses. It may not be about taking a giant leap at once, but the little consistent steps you take will count towards making you better than you were.
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Each day that you wake, you will be presented with opportunities to grew and rise higher. Always aim to go higher and to make improvements on yourself. There is no height that you will get to in life and you will feel like you have arrived at your destination, there will always be a next higher height to ascend to. This is why I believe that life is basically progressive - it is an adventure in progress. When you stop giving excuses or stop trading blames and start to take responsibilities, you will unlock a version of yourself that you never thought existed. Growth comes when you stop comparing yourself with others and start to compare yourself with yourself.
Always remind yourself that life is not a race, neither are you in any competition with anyone. The most important person to your journey of life is you, not someone else. So each time you wake up, just have a simple mission at heart - become better than you were yesterday. If you must compete, then it has to be with your version of yesterday, so as to become a better person today.
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