I am currently reading this book by Burt Goldman called Power of Self Mind Control. The book simply explains how we see things are just all in your head and how you can switch your life for the better. My favorite part is in Chapter 10 which talks about self-competition.
Burt insists that we should remember that the successful people we look up to are also human beings and not gods. That they too, were once in a position like us and figured it out. If they can, so can we in our own unique way. From this perspective then, we are urged to compete with ourselves rather than other people.
The last part is a hard pill to swallow for most people. I mean, look at the world. We live in a ‘survival for the fittest’ kind of world. Everyone is competing with someone somewhere all in the name of being the best. Sure, a little competition isn’t bad for anyone’s health but who you’re competing with is a matter of concern.
Here’s the thing, you’ll be limiting yourself if you decide to compete with someone else. Your sole objective will only be to be better than what he/she does. Okay, that’s not bad but what if your rival doesn’t go far? What now? Will you either stay stagnant basking in victory or get better at what you do? Most people go for option A until someone else poses a threat which shouldn’t be the case.
Consider option B for a minute. Let’s use blogging in this case. You have created your blog, updated some few posts and you are sharing it with your audience. Suppose you want your traffic to grow, how do you make that possible? The majority of you will say to google the answer but you’ll only be getting subjective answers. Rather than looking for external answers, look for them from within. In this case, I’m referring to the blog.
Go back to your blog and see what might be improved. Is it the aesthetics? Is it how you write your articles? Is it about what you write? What can you do to make it better? That’s the important question. Rather than going to other blogs to go and see how they are doing things, just stick to yours and improve it day by day. It’s a slow but sure process that I have seen with this one and it is only going to get better. The same can also be said for your personal life.
I know I’ll be touching some nerves in the next few sentences or so but here goes: there is nothing wrong with you. Everything you have done up to this point has been the best you can do at the point. Burt best says it like this:
Do your best at all times, even though there will be times when your best is a one, and other times when your best is a ten.
Yes, there might be some things you are yet to achieve or understand. Everyone in the world has this problem. You’ll figure it out one day. Or you won’t. The choice is up to you. If you do want to improve your life, I’d suggest looking at yourself first before you go buy a book about self-improvement. Because you alone understand your own problems.