"If you continuously compete with others you become bitter, but if you continuously compete with yourself you become better" Unknown
The world has become a big competition ring. Everyone is competing with each other to see who can have the coolest friends, live in the biggest houses, drive the best cars, go on the most lavish vacations, stay at the best hotels, and the list goes on. Even when they can’t afford to, they will do it because they have to one-up someone. Sometimes people will even disappear from the face of the earth (not literally) because they are unable keep up with the competition. So they go and hide under a rock, sometimes hating from a distance and/or watching you do it. They remain there until they feel they have a competitive edge to re-join the competition. Is this you?
And then there are others, who try to get there by all cost necessary, stepping on toes, upsetting loved ones, and even to some extent, upsetting and creating havoc for themselves. Success is a must for these ones. Now there is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to become your definition of success. However you should do it in a way that will make you better person, not a bitter person. Click here to read true colours so you can be sure to sift out people like this in your social circle.
It Starts out Early
It’s almost useless to be upset at the level of competition that exist since you are taught directly or indirectly from childhood to compete with each other. For example, who knows all their colours, who can count the best, who knows all the letters of their ABC and so forth. The goal you might ask, well to become the teacher’s favorite or just to be the smartest because your parents gave strict warning that you must be the best in the class.
We Want it All
We also live in an individualistic society, everyone for themselves. We do not operate as a collective, and as a result competition with each other is constant. Similarly, we like power and respect and in today’s world, we need a lot of money for that. So what do we do, we relentlessly try to get ahead of someone who has more. Because of our individualism, we don’t like to work together as having the whole pie is way better than a third, or a quarter or one-eighth of the pie. We don’t want to share (side eye) What’s sharing we say? We want to compete! Yes, that’s more like it.
For example, you and a group of friends or family decided to start a business. Everyone then become so concerned about what they are going to get out of it instead of how they can build and uplift each other to be collectively successful. This is evidenced in music groups where they started off as a group but soon thereafter, they have all gone solo. Why? Well my best guess is that, they are no longer interested in sharing the profit. Everyone wants their own. And even sooner after that, they may start to compete with each other to see who can make it to the top of the charts, the fastest.
Stay in Your Lane
We see competition even among siblings, who can make their parents prouder or just simply be the most successful. The competition is fierce and as I said previously, it’s also constant. You can’t elude it, unless you’re the type of person that simply don’t care. You just do your own thing and as the saying goes, you stay in your own lane. You become so much more at peace when you stay out of the rat race (and out of people’s business too, might I add) and just focus on your goals.
Part of competing is focusing on other people’s goals. How far they are. What they are doing, sometimes who they are doing (LOL) but you get the point. You actually focus more on others when you are competing with them. This takes away from all the good things you could be doing for yourself and all the accomplishments you could be reaping.
Also, think of the peace you will have when you compete with yourself. One, the focus is one you, two, the focus is on you, three, the focus is on you. You get where I’m going right? When you invest in yourself, you will only get better. Remember, you may not be aware of what others are doing to reach their goals. So if they surpass you or are consistently ahead of you based on your calculation, you will only get bitter knowing that you may not surpass or catch up with them. Moreover, they might be doing something that you are not willing to do. So turn off your stopwatch (literally) and stop watching people. Take it easy, whatever you are doing, it will work out.
Choose Peace of Mind
Isn’t it so much better to spend your time working on you and going at your own pace? This gives you so much peace of mind rather than having to give someone a piece of your mind when things are not going well. If you compete, why do you compete with others? I mean, we are supposed to inspire each other, that’s far more positive and uplifting. When you compete envy and hatred build up and before you know it, someone has made it to your hit list. As a result, you started displaying hate and jealousy, possibly started throwing words and now you have to defend yourself. You have given your competitor a piece of your mind and now you are unable to have peace of mind. See why competition makes you bitter?
You even disappoint yourself, you think you’re not as good, will never make it, you’re a complete failure, all because you’ve decided to focus on what others are doing instead of on what you can do. You can potentially send yourself down depression avenue too if you are not careful. Allow others to be an inspiration to you rather than your competition.
Focus on YOU
No matter which way you look at it, it’s simply not in your best interest to compete with others. So as of today, let the focus be on you. If you work hard enough you will get your opportunity to shine. The sun and the moon both shine but they have their time and neither takes away from the other. Allow this to be your style, know that you to will shine, and you don’t have to get in the way of or take away from someone else’s shine.
Stay in your lane. Take your time. Plan. Organize your steps and slowly but surely you will get there. Stop always thinking that you have do better than the other person, stop feeling like you have to be prettier, smarter, just stop. STOP! Don’t make yourself bitter by competing with others, always aim to make yourself better and you can only do that if you compete with the self you were yesterday. So after all you are allowed to compete (LOL) just do it with yourself. For more inspiration click here to watch video by Joel Osteen. Until next time, keep calm and blog on.
