It is often that people worry about the competition. Worry about who they are going against and what they have to compete against. Well there is no competition. This became a popular saying but it is more powerful than you think. There is more to those 4 words. And if you figure out what the more is, it can change a lot of things for you. And the change can start now.
So let's get the part out of the way that most people think of when they hear the line "There is No Competition". This statement means that you can do anything, beat anyone, anyway you want. But it starts with understanding your true capabilities. For you to understand there is no competition, you have to believe the statement first. You have to believe that no one can compete with you. You have to feel that no one would WANT to compete with you.
There is no reason anyone would want to take on that challenge. And in order for you to believe all of these things you have to be confident. Confident in your abilities but also humble in your approach. The only way the competition goes away is when YOU decide to change the opponent. And the opponent changes when you start putting in the work.
When you start putting in the hard work, the gritty dirty work, your opponent changes. Instead of you looking at the others as competition you quickly turn your opponent into yourself. The person to beat becomes yourself. Your previous best, your previous worst, your benchmarks, and your own frailty in vulnerability. To put in that level of hard work you have to be willing to make yourself vulnerable. Vulnerable to pain, criticism, judgment, and your limitations. But it is the exact opposite of what we do.
We try so hard to make ourselves calloused to pain. And because we do not want to feel pain we do everything we can to limit the pain we feel. We even go to the point of avoiding the pain we feel. But for you to become the person no one wants to compete with you have to be willing to beat the toughest person you will encounter.
You have to be willing to beat yourself. And in case you were not sure, it hurts twice as much than beating someone else. Because you are dealing the pain and feeling the pain. But you develop two skills twice as fast. Stamina and resilience. The stamina to continue fighting when you would normally stop. The resilience to take a beating when you would normally want to quit. Beating yourself is the first step. The second step is beating yourself again, pushing harder than the last time. You know your limits, deep down inside. Break past them, step by step.
And as amazing as this is this is only the first part about those 4 words. There is no competition. Instead of thinking about who is your competition, change the perspective. Who is your ally? Who is your teammate? Who is your fuel to get better? Ironically enough, that person is the person you thought you were to fight this whole time. Your former competitor is your ally. Because if you are not fighting against them, you can use them as support.
Instead of looking at the amazing things amazing people have done and trying to past them, or beat them, or do better than them, we need to change our perspective completely. If someone does something you admire, tell them. Tell them how much you appreciate them for being a professional you can look to for support, for inspiration, and for camaraderie.
The true competition is not outward, it is inward. It is in ourselves. It is with ourselves. And picking fights anywhere else with anyone else is counterproductive to our growth. First we must challenge ourselves before anyone else. Iron sharpens iron. We must sharpen ourselves on ourselves, with ourselves. When you feel you are no longer a match for yourself that is the moment to be humble to realize that this means you need to work harder to become a match for yourself.
So go build bonds, build friendships. Approach those you viewed as your enemy as your ally. Change your perspective. Change who you are currently chasing, to who you should chasing. It starts in the mirror and ends in the mirror. Conquer yourself before you attempt to conquer anyone, anywhere else. And constantly remind yourself of your greatness. Stay humble and appreciative for what you can do, but never let that be a reason to rest on your laurels. There is no time to rest. You can rest later, a lot later. The time is now, and the moment is yours. But you have to claim it. Believe in yourself. And remind yourself regularly...
There is No Competition.