Contents:
The age of information brings with it a window into a seemingly unlimited pool of competition.
Like never before, we are now competing at a global scale in everything we do. This article will find a place online and be subject to the many words others have written, the many ideas others have shared, and the many criticisms others have conjured. It becomes easy to fall into a cycle of comparison when partaking in what you feel is worthwhile to be doing. Your motivation levels will fluctuate based on the competitors you discover, and your survival instinct to be on top will begin to kick in.
Humans’ willingness to win did not evolve within the global market. Our ancestors were fighting battles at a local scale, and the ones who had the world’s competition accessible to their analysis were few and far between. In order to compete at a global scale, it used to be a requirement to dominate the local competition first. Only those who made it out of the local scene were then exposed to competitors from other places who they have not yet seen.
Our ability to process information at a global scale can lead to a paralysis of sorts, in which we are stuck in a cycle of comparison, envy, then depression. For a person starting out with a venture of their own, the presence of long-established global competition causes immense pressure to not move forward.
This article aims to shine a light on why you should be careful comparing yourself to others within the modern world we live.
Paralysis
To expand on the subject of paralysis: Be careful of being stuck becoming a jack of all trades but a master of none. In an instant, you can discover masters in the world’s most specific domains should you choose to find them. When embarking on a journey towards mastery of any one specific thing, ask yourself if the knowledge of people who have gotten there before you will deter you from continuing along the path you’ve chosen. Be sure that every piece of knowledge you stumble across will only motivate you to become better, rather than demoralize you and pressure you to stop.
Study your reactions to the existence of competitors who would demolish you in the realm you’ve chosen. The road to mastery is a very long and difficult one. It is sensitive to the most subtle changes in motivation, interest, and ambition. Be careful of what you search for and whose existence you discover in the process. Our brains are wired to compete, but have not been adjusted to compete at a global scale during the early stages of any skill we choose to master. Global competition forces the ones on the cutting edge to keep sharpening their skills, but can suppress the motivation for novices to join the race and embark on journeys which are difficult and long.
Control
This paralysis of people who are overwhelmed by the wealth of competition which exists within our world can be used maliciously by the ones who are in control. The general populous will have no chance of competing with the ones who are ahead if their motivation to do so is suppressed from the beginning. It will become difficult to change the world if you submerge yourself into the globalized pool of competition on the day that you begin your journey. Though anything you do will always be exposed to global competition, your mental state should be one of comparing yourself locally and to prior versions of yourself. Compare your skills to the ones around you first, rather than to all who exist and have existed prior. Grow your level of motivation before testing it against the motivation of the ones who lead the charge at the global scale.
The motivation of the ones who lead the world in their particular domain has no chance of being matched by your motivation when you’ve just begun your journey. Their skills are sharp enough to slice through anything you think, do, or say. They will destroy you quickly should you place yourself to challenge what they’ve mastered defending. Do not allow yourself, and the motivation which drives your habits, to be destroyed and controlled by the ones who are the current masters of specified domains.
Protect your focus being leveled and controlled by being careful of whom you choose to compete against. Build your skills and motivation up against those who are of similar level in both of these facets. You will be competing at the global scale sooner than you think, but you must work to get there first. Break free of the paralysis that comes with competing at a global level when you are not yet ready to, and keep yourself from being controlled by the fear of being crushed.