I compare myself too often.
I compare myself almost every day.
Already, I’m comparing this article to articles other people have written, and I’m only 3 sentences in.
I’m new to this entrepreneur stuff, but still, why aren’t I as good as them?
Why can’t I get an investment? Why can’t I make 6 figures? Why does it seem like success is easy to them, when I know I have to work my butt off for every newsletter subscriber, or every “Like” on Facebook?
Why do I feel regret for not reading enough, or not learning enough, or not working hard enough when I see their successes? I have no idea why. But I hate it, and this comparing myself attitude really has to go.
I even model what I do after them, hoping it will achieve their level of success. Nope. Doesn’t work.
So how do I stop comparing myself? Yes, they’re cooler than me. Yes, they make more money than me. Yes, they have a higher level of success than me. Does that make me bad? Does that make me worse than them?
How do I stop these comparisons?
You know how I stop? I stop by getting deep into my core. I reach down into why I started this business in the first place. I grab all the bricks that people have thrown at me throughout my life, and place them gently on the foundation for what I am creating.
I start to realize what I am doing this for. I realize WHO I am doing this for. I realize that no matter what anybody else does, they will not equal what I am doing. They may be more successful, they may have more money, they may have more email subscribers, but nobody will provide the value that I provide at my business. Nobody will show the love to my customers that I will show to mine.
How do you stop comparing yourself to your friends or peers, who somehow are achieving a much higher level of success than you?
You stop focusing on them, and start focusing on your business, your brand, and your loyal followers. You begin to go the extra mile, disciplining yourself to treat every follower, comment, friend, and customer like the first one.
Like they are the most important person on earth.
You begin to realize that “they” are not you. Nobody is you. I repeat, NOBODY IS YOU. You have skills and knowledge inside of you that nobody else has. You have your own brand and your own unique style that people LOVE. If you try to emulate another person’s style, you will crash and burn. But if you create your own style, and stick to it, you will start to feel more and more comfortable with what you are doing.
You will start to look at what you are creating more often, instead of what “they” are creating. You will put the time, energy, and love into your business more than the time you will spend feeling bad about how well they are doing. And finally, you will find out the root of your being, and realize that you were put on this earth for a reason, and realize that this little business you are creating is what you were put on this earth to do.
As time goes on, you will take comfort in knowing that even though your direct competition has over 10,000 likes on Facebook, and you have only 100, those 100 likes give you a level of satisfaction that you can’t find anywhere else.
Especially from who you are comparing yourself to.
Tyson Hartnett has played professional basketball overseas, and recently started his first business, BasketballTrainingClub.com. He encourages people to find their personal trifecta: What they are good at, what they love to do, and how they can make money doing it.
Image Credit: twicsy.com
