It’s a human tendency to compare themselves with others. Be it personal, professional, educational, or social life, humans tend to analyse their positions with respect to one another.
When it comes to business, competition is diverse! Competition can both be healthy and unhealthy; but when business leaders start assessing their own business success with respect to others’, this is where the downfall begins.
Let’s dissect this phenomenon further to realize why we shouldn’t be afraid of competitors.
Why Do People Look at Competitors In The First Place?
According to Social Comparison Theory, people put value to their individual worth (both personal and social) by weighing how they compare to other people.
In businesses, people who are overly competitive are excessively focused on short-term goals and are less careful in utilizing their resources. It is mainly because they prioritize surpassing their competitors over increasing efficiency. They have unreached targets and unmet desires, which their competitors have already achieved.
The premise is simple: If a bear is chasing me and you, I just need to outrun you, not the bear.
So, all in all, competition is like a war between 3 things: Status, Power, and Opportunities!
Negative Effects of Comparison in Business
Unhealthy comparison is hazardous, both to self and business. It results in:
- Feeling envious and constantly thinking about others’ achievements
- Low self-esteem and losing self-confidence
- Envy leading to feeling angry
- Anger leading to feeling depressed
- Loss of focus on bigger picture
- Loss of motivation
- Feelings of inadequacy
- Eventual decline in performance
Hence, it’s a path that leads to nothing but business failure and loss.
Why Comparing Yourself to Others Is Pointless?
Comparison is useless because everyone has unique talent, and everyone is made in a special way. All you must do is to focus on what’s special about YOU! The question here is, how?
FIND YOUR UNIQUENESS
There is a simple, 3 step formula to find your uniqueness:
- First, look at your own life story. Remember the experiences that shaped you, what useful lessons you learned from your experiences, and what makes your life unique.
- Secondly, bring your ultimate dream back to focus. Your dream is your own; it is something that is your inspiration and not the product of anyone else’s expectations.
BE A RACEHORSE! A racehorse is not focused on his competitors, but rather galloping towards the finish line. It knows its ultimate goal and what it needs to do to reach there. So, you need to be very clear about your dream, your finish line.
- Thirdly, to achieve your finish line, you need to hang on to the talent that makes you stand out from the rest. Only once you realize your strengths and your potentials, can you take the steps to achieve your goals.
It is no surprise that everyone starts somewhere. Every person moves at a different pace and every person faces his own struggles. It is just that some people are further ahead on the path. Everyone is capable of greatness; you just need to figure out where your greatness lies!
Final Takeaway
Every person is running his own race – you just need to focus on yours. So, whenever you find yourself comparing your achievements with people around you, remember these five points:
– Appreciate who you are, your strengths and your weaknesses.
– Stick to your core values.
– Confidently reject opportunities that don’t look like you.
– Don’t give up on your ultimate dream.
– Remember that everything happens for a good reason.
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