The Comparison Saboteur
I spent an hour this morning going through the site of a competitor, reading blogs and seeing all the great things going on in their website. My shoulders slumped and my head was in my hand. I was beating myself up, thinking "wow, this is great, how am I ever going to compete with this? I should just quit now." I continued to dig through the site, obviously a sucker for punishment (and employing a well-tuned procrastination technique) and found a podcast to listen to. In it, I was enlightened to the fact that this competitor has been in the business 15 years and came from a background very different than mine. I stopped the podcast right then. Has this ever happened to you? My bet is, yes, it has. It’s human nature to compete. We see it every day… from the moment we step onto the freeway and cars race by us, to the gym where we run faster and lift more than the guy beside us, to the coffee shop where we check out those gals amazing heels and outfits, to the workplace where we outdo our peers to get the next promotion. For most, these moments are rooted in competition as we compare ourselves to others. What happens next, what we do with the Comparison Saboteur, that’s the real key. Comparison to others can have one of two impacts on your own personal growth and development:
It can be used as a driver to enhance yourself and push you further than you thought possible on your own, or
It can be an obstacle that impedes your progress, ruins your confidence and prevents you living your best life.
Think back to the most recent incident of comparison in your career or in your life. What was your natural response? Did you sabotage your own success or leap forward into the land of uncharted bliss? Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comment area below. For me, back to the story, I laughed out loud at myself when I realized what was going on and who was running my emotions. Yes, that Comparison Saboteur had stepped in to run the show for me. Why was I comparing myself to someone else at all? They had different experiences in their journey along with different skills and passions. What did I have to gain by playing the comparison game? Absolutely nothing. It’s my career, my business, and I’ll run it my way, at my pace. And that’s what’s going to work for me. I can’t pretend to be someone I’m not or live up to something that’s not part of who I am. But I can use this newfound knowledge as a driver. I can take the Comparison Saboteur and put it to work for me in a positive way, pushing me towards the next deadline, the next goal, the next mile. Competing against myself is way more rewarding… it puts me back in the driver seat… for my own success. If you’re still struggling with the Comparison Saboteur in your life, why not contact us and let's see how we can help.
