Hello lovely readers!
One of the few people that I religiously follow on Twitter, Vishal Khandelwal, tweeted something a few months ago. Words of wisdom that hit me like a rock.
The tweet read:
“Competition with others is overrated. Avoid it. Competition with your younger self is underrated. Embrace it.”
Simple words, but astounding to say the least!
The society that we live in (sadly) conditions us to be on our toes constantly. It is like the blaring horn of that vehicle behind you in the traffic jam. You want them to stop, but they won’t. In the same way, our mindset has been trained to keep trying to be the best among the rest.
Back in school days, we would be fighting for the rank holder’s position. Dejection, self-pity and nothing else would be the outcome if you lost the top spot. Even when it came to participating in competitions and contests showcasing our talents, we always wanted to be the number one. Silly class tests resulted in comparing each others’ answer sheets with excitement. Only for it to crumble when you saw that your fellow bench mate scored 1-2 marks more than you did.
Little did we realise that this will not end with school. Matters became worse when we entered the world of “competitive” exams. The word itself is self-explanatory. All are in a mad rush to be nothing but the best. Yes, your classmate back in school or your distant relative’s son/daughter is also answering the same exam. You have got to score way more than them. Right?
But why? Why have we reduced our lives to nothing but a competition? Why do you have to keep comparing your abilities with someone who isn’t even the same person as you are?
No two persons are like two peas in a pod. Each of us is different in our own way. We all have our own strengths and capabilities. Why should we ruin our authenticity by trying to be like someone else?
Rather than cribbing about how someone else has got it all figured, while you are still struggling your way, why not introspect about how far you’ve come?
The only person you can compare yourself is your younger self. Think back to 5 or even 10 years ago. How were you at that time? Your personality? Your thoughts? You?
Grateful that I made this exercise a lot easier for myself. If you’ve read my older posts, you do know that I have the habit of journaling. All the journals which I’ve filled up with my thoughts since 2012 are all preserved and cherished. Occasionally, I crack open any of the older journals and read what I had written back then. My heart sings a happy song when I realise how much I’ve improved! Sometimes I even wonder whether it was really me who wrote it all. 😄
Of course, a lot of things are still the same and have no intentions to change.
Also, the truth is that when you strive to achieve something with the sole motive of beating someone else at it, you can only be better than them. However, when you keep goals in line with the motive of getting better than you previously were, you can reach the skies. More than you expected you could do!
The whole point of this blog post is that we need to STOP comparing ourselves with anyone else, but us. It is actually sheer stupidity to compare yourself with someone you do not even know well.
To live a fulfiling life, stop comparison with others and start working on yourself. 🙂
Until next time, stay blessed!
Image created via Canva
The Soulful Nib 
God has created each person with unique capabilities and it is true that each one has their own strength and capacity. Comparison is the biggest thief . We underestimate our strength and capacity. As you have written a flower does not think of competing with flower next to it.
Trying to become a better person than what you are at present is the best policy of competing with ourself..
Excellent blog post.
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Thank you so much! 🤗
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