Who is your competition? Not who is your company’s competition but who is your personal competition. You may have colleagues, close friends or a significant other that you have a friendly competition with – a way of pushing each other. But if you want to be at your personal and professional best than you should see yourself as your own competition. Every day you wake up, you should be trying to do better than you did the previous day.

It’s probably not surprising that I’ve grown up an athlete and enjoy sports or activities that force me to analyze my performance, making tweaks to perform better the next time. I apply those same concepts to everything I do whether it’s working out, taking on a new project or working towards personal goals.

When I was first recovering from my injuries, I pushed myself every day to be better than the day before, even if that mean only being able to take a few extra steps. Fast forward to a couple of years later I would achieve my Spartan Race Trifecta and compete in the Spartan Race World Championship which was 18+ miles and included 35ish obstacles.

By competing with yourself you push yourself to grow.  Instead of focusing on comparing yourself with your peers or those whom you respect, focus on accomplishing your goals. You stop letting the start line move.

That doesn’t mean that you don’t respect their discipline, creativity or ideas. It means that you take what you learn from them and apply it to your projects, goals, and processes. Doing this will help you understand what their motivations are and if those are similar to yours, you apply that same rigor to yours.

Being your own competition is awesome.

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