“The principle is competing against yourself. It’s about self-improvement, about being better than you were the day before.”
–Steve Young, football player
In my work leading executive teams and working with top CEO’s, the topic of competition often arises and tends to either have people underestimate or overestimate themselves. While it is healthy to aspire, and wise to know how others are faring in the games of business and life, there is only one comparison that matters: you versus your own potential.
In my book Unopened Gifts: A Journey to Gratitude I share the story of how the main character “Kyle” could never see what he had and thus always felt unfulfilled and unsatisfied in his life. In reality, he had an amazing family, business, and life. But he couldn’t see it, as he seemed always to focus on what others had or what he was still missing. And, as we all learn, in life we tend to get what we focus on.
Being who you are – and being the best at it – is a full time job. Fulfilling one’s potential – opening your “Unopened Gifts” – is all about the pursuit of mastery. In pursuit of mastery one is constantly learning and growing – however we never arrive. It is climbing a mountain that has no top. Yet, each view is more inspiring than the previous one, for we can see things the higher we climb that we could not see when we were at a lower point earlier in the same climb.
