Stop Competing

Comparison is a liar; envy is its accomplice. They’ll only leave us alone if we ignore them completely. – Bob Goff

Comparison and envy will eventually lead to competition. And competition will eventually lead to loneliness, because if we look for it and follow it, competition will never go away.

I continue to learn this lesson–over and over again. I think somewhere along the way I believed that we are all supposed to be in competition with each other. I believed that life was a game, and that I had to keep striving and keep winning. Winning what? I am not even sure. When my friend received positive attention from a boy in middle school, and I didn’t, I believed that she had won that competition. I believed that I needed to do better and be better so I could win the next one. When a classmate received positive feedback from our professor in college, I believed I had to compete with that classmate and do better and be better to win the next one. So, the next time my professor gave me positive feedback on a paper or presentation or test score, I believed that I had won the competition.

The truth is this–we are all unique. We all have gifts that only we can use. Our stories are ours, and no one else’s. There is a time for everything… a time to hold on, and another to let go; a time to rip out and another to mend. Right now, let’s use our precious time to hold on to the truth that we all have unique value right where we are. Let’s let go of comparison and competition.

Let’s stop competing with our friends.

Let’s stop competing with our colleagues.

Let’s stop competing with our family.

Let’s stop competing with our social media friends.

I love what Lindsay Letters said at The Influence Conference: Move forward in confidence. There’s room for all of us.