Why is it better to compete with yourself?
Competition with yourself is better for two reasons. First, competing with yourself allows you to focus on what you want to achieve instead of wasting time on figuring out what others are doing and getting yourself stressed out over how you can achieve all. Second, competition with yourself can help build your confidence by seeing how far you have come. So often, people only see their failures but not anything else they’ve accomplished.
Self-improvement with Satisfaction is only possible if you compete with yourself and not others. If you are constantly comparing yourself to others, you will never be satisfied with yourself. You will always feel like you are not good enough and won’t enjoy what you have accomplished.
When you compete with yourself, you are not trying to beat anyone else but only yourself. It doesn’t matter what others are doing. It matters how well I can do up until this point in time. You shouldn’t feel pressured to be better than others because it takes the joy of fulfilling your dreams away from you. When you put pressure on yourself, it leads you to make irrational decisions and get stressed out; that is usually unnecessary because your stress prevents you from seeing things clearly, thus leading them to make bad choices for their self-improvement purposes.
This stress can also lead to complete inaction, simply giving up on your dreams. It’s when you give up on something you want. That’s when you get stressed and lose sight of why you started in the first place.
You might know of someone who went from a 10k runner to a marathoner in just one year. You might think, “I can never be like him!” and stop before you even start. But what if he started at 5k and improved himself little by little? His journey of improvement is possible through self-competition, not self-comparison. Competition with yourself results in the betterment of yourself, not others or how you look to others.
Just focus on trying to make this day better than yesterday. If you try your best and have faith, you can make it happen. And while it might not be as easy as it sounds, at least you know that you are improving, not simply comparing yourself to others. No one can make your life as good as you. Only you can make your life better than yesterday.
Comparison is a two-edged sword. It can be motivating, it can be helpful, but too often, it becomes stressful. You get stressed when you compare yourself to others, and the feeling of comparison is often negative. “The grass is always greener on the other side” is especially true when it comes to comparison. Stop comparing yourself to others, and learn to compete with yourself instead of competing with others. Improve yourself by setting realistic goals and being honest about your accomplishments.
True self-improvement happens when you compare how you were yesterday (or yesterday) to how you are today. Improving yourself does not mean that you need to show the world what you are making. You might want to keep it a secret from everyone else! No one else is interested in your self-improvement as much as yourself.
When I say not to compare yourself to others, it does not mean that you cannot have ideals. It just means that life is different for everyone and does not always end up the way they want. You can set lofty goals for yourself, but you should not compare yourself with others.
There are just too many factors surrounding other people’s lives that could significantly impact how they turn out. Not to mention, what makes one person happy might make another person miserable – it all depends on the person. So, be honest with yourself about your goals and what will make you happy in life.
In the end, no one can judge your self-improvement but you. And if you can be proud of your accomplishments and know that you are improving yourself day by day, then it doesn’t matter so much if anyone else knows or not.
One day the compound effect of our efforts will eventually lead us to a place where we can truly achieve our dreams.
Competing with yourself and doing better than yesterday is THE way to self-improve without getting stressed!