In life, we are constantly comparing ourselves to others. We are always looking at what our peers are doing. Why? Why do we have this inner dialog about social comparison? First, you really need to take a long hard look at yourself in the mirror. It should be You vs You instead. Raise your own bar!
Many years ago I remember that some of my peers always seemed to have so many things going their way all the time. I wondered how they did it. I also compared myself to them needlessly. The thought was to try to get to where they were and that was a big mistake. There was absolutely no reason for me to be like them. Later in life, I learned that some of those people didn’t portray their lives in the right way. I changed my mindset.
This of course was before the social media thing. Many had nice lowered vehicles with new rims, tires, paint jobs, and stereo work and I had a beat-up lowered bug. But it was my bug and I worked on it. It was the fastest VW in South Atlanta. It also had an amazing piecemealed audio system that could be heard about a mile away. This was bragging rights for sure!
I stopped viewing others as competition and I just started looking inward to one-up myself along the way. What cool things could I do? How could I progress and do the things that I wanted to do for myself? The You vs You started coming into full swing. I was able to overcome so many adversities with the new mentality. Each day I took the opportunity to do something cooler with my cars, with whatever I had. I made do.
You vs You is all about raising the bar. You should constantly be evolving. Learn and grow within. We are naturally our own worst critics, but we need to have a healthy relationship with it. Being hard on ourselves is just taxing on our emotional state and just gets us nowhere in the long run. Be easy but stern on yourself. Set your goals and go achieve them.
Have fun trying to do new things. Each day we need to expand our knowledge so that our internal library will grow. I have been working very hard on this for the past several years. It has certainly been very challenging but I am doing it little by little. I am more forgiving with myself.
I believe that since I have learned how to forgive myself I have now been able to take on more challenges. Not sure if I am the only one that has gone through this. I feel like I have given myself permission to fail and now I feel so much better about how I go about daily life. Somehow when I was really hard on myself I would give up quickly and not try to take on new things.
When it’s You vs You, you can make it a fun game to expand your awareness and tackle anything that comes your way. We are human and we naturally look at others and what they do but try not to get sucked into it. Challenge yourself and hold yourself accountable.
Conclusion
You vs You affords yourself the opportunity to truly dive into self-development and growth long term. Take the time to learn about yourself. Your wants and your needs in life. Keep moving that needle forward and one up yourself.
Question
Have you given yourself permission to fail? If so how is it working out for you? Do you feel you now can take on more challenges in life?
