Competition With Self

Think of competition and the mind goes to –

• Beating others,
• Outperforming others,
• Scoring better than all others,
• Getting results faster and better than others.

The mere thought gives you the feeling of painful efforts and fighting with unknown enemies.

Competition is also a very common scapegoat for any failure. We blame ‘tough competition’ or ‘increasing competition’ to hide our incompetence. The fear of competition is so heavy that some of us do not even try things which are within reach and easily achievable.

The process of competition can be turned into a pleasant one if we shift our focus from-

“I will beat all others to become number one in my field.” 

 To-

“I will perform this time better than I performed last time on my chosen field/area. I will work on goals and deadlines defined by myself.”

The key to change outlook is realistic goal setting and honest judgment of performance.

Consider the following advantages-

Working with known– In place of worrying about unknown competitors and estimating their capabilities, you work on yourself. And you know (at least) yourself better. So the process becomes easy and manageable and you enjoy doing it.

Control over goals & deadlines– You are the best judge of your capabilities, your environment and your limitations. So, you can decide realistic goals and time frames to achieve these. These entities are not imposed on you from outside.

Constant improvement– It is a never-ending process. Once you achieve a goal you ‘raise the bar’ a little more.

Win-Win situation – you are the only person involved in this process. You can not lose even if you don’t achieve your goal. In this case you will achieve less than expected results but still you are a gainer. Moreover, you will get a realization that either the goal was not realistic to achieve or the efforts were not enough. Here again you gain insight from your realization for better results next time.

No, it is not so easy to reprogram your mind, yet it is possible. The problems are-

1. Being honest with self – Having a candid self dialogue is the first hurdle. Our mind assumes things are less painful and thus we befool ourselves to avoid pain. Afterwards, we take our assumptions for granted. It requires a lot of courage to be honest with self. you have to clearly define for yourself-

• Which area do you want to improve?
• Where do you stand now in this area?
• Where do you want to reach?
• Time frame to achieve your goal

2. Assessment of performance– Since I am the most favorite person for me, I lower the standards while assessing the performance of mine. So beware of this and have an impartial judgment system/yardsticks. 

3. Leaving comfort zone– We remain happy in our created comfort zone. So common experience is that we make resolutions but do not act on these. The process goes on; we repent on not achieving and make fresh resolutions. So after setting your goal(s) ,you have to accept it as a commitment and a project (not given by your boss or client this time).

So, if the above-mentioned approach appeals to you, give it a try. Don’t worry about ‘where you will reach’ following it. You will reach where you want to reach rather than reach a place which is dictated by market forces.

---