Instagram. Facebook. Twitter. What are they doing, saying, posting?
Another PR? Damn it. Look who they’re hanging out with? Are you kidding me? They’re THAT big now? What the hell am I doing wrong?
It’s the same monologue we play over, and over, and over again with ourselves. We see what our competition is doing online and we panic. We allow negative thoughts to creep in, we become frustrated at our journey’s “apparently” slower pace, and the limited supply of energy we had for today is gone. It is completely drained worrying about things out of our control, people on different journeys, and situations we could never impact. Because their journey is not ours – and our real competition is not them.
Comparison is the thief of joy, and energy, and life. Too often we waste our limited time & energy fretting about the highlights we see on another’s social media stream. I’m guilty of this. I can’t tell you how many productive days were derailed because I worried about what someone else was doing on social media. I see a highlight post, immediately compare it to my “Not Top-10” or behind-the-scenes, and waste my energy worrying about things out of my control.
Instead of using that energy to advance toward my goals.
My competition has always been about me versus me. It’s about being 1% better today than I was yesterday. The same bodes true for you. Focus on what you control – you. Compete your hardest, do your best, and let the cards fall where they may. I assure you if you compete every day, you will win.
So let’s challenge ourselves this week to change. Here’s how you and I can do it together:
- Immediately recognize when we start to compare ourselves to others. Admit – out loud – that we’re comparing our full story to someone’s highlights.
- Get off social media
- Repeat three times aloud – My competition is myself. I can only control what I do. If I focus improving myself, I will win.
- Then get to work.
You can do great things. 2016 can be your best year yet. You will if you Compete for it. I believe in you.
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