I totally believe in healthy competition. I tell my kids all the time the competition is a good thing. It drives you, it pushes you, it gives you a target.
Having said that, the best target to beat is your younger self. And when I say younger, it could be a minute younger, a week younger, a year younger. The idea is to beat the performance of your past self.
Many of us fall into the trap of comparing ourselves with others. The only result that comes out of that is second-guessing yourself and your own capabilities.
Now I’m not saying that we should completely ignore everyone around us and just focus on ourselves. It’s definitely good to look for inspiration all around us but there’s a fine line between inspiration and competition. Inspiration can be drawn from others but competition is best when done with your former self.
Just like when you run in track, the coach tells you to focus on your PR (personal record). Don’t worry if you come in last in the race, but do worry if you are not beating your own former PR.
If you are not improving yourself that just simply means you are not trying hard enough. If you are not beating others, there could be several factors affecting that which you cannot control. Don’t worry about that. The more you worry about that, the more miserable it’s going to make you and that doesn’t help move you further in life. Focus on what’s in your hands and keep on improving.