Comparing Chapters Leaves Pages Unwritten

There’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot recently. And the reason I’m big on this idea is because it impacts literally every area of your life.

So what’s the big idea?

You’re never competing with the person standing next to you. Because your only competition is the person looking back at you in the mirror every day.

Poetic, right?

But for real, I’ve been thinking about this concept a lot recently.

Because you see, it seems like we’re always comparing ourselves to others.

The Instagram model traveling to all the fanciest places. The kid in your math class who got a higher score than you on the test. The multi-billionaire who makes you feel like you’ve accomplished so little in life when they’ve accomplished so much (looking at you, Elon).

The truth is, we’re always looking at others and thinking:

I wish I had that car. I wish I got that score. I wish I was there right now.

And look, there’s nothing wrong with wanting more in life. In my opinion, these comparisons can even lead to a better life for yourself... but only if you treat them as such.

Everyone’s on their own path, their own journey, and their own direction in life. Far too often we look at someone 50 steps in front of us and only see the end result. What we don’t see are all the countless hours and sleepless nights they put into working on their craft.

The pain. The suffering. The challenges they had to overcome to get to where they are today.

We don’t always have the full picture.

So when we look at someone with a better car, better job, better house... better life than us, all we see is the end-result. We don’t see anything behind the scenes.

But if we were to pull back the curtain and dissect the steps they took to get to where they are today, I think what we’d often see is someone who was once in our shoes. Someone who looked at the super-rich figures and extravagant lifestyles and thought, “Man, do I want to have that someday.”

And then made it happen.

Now, I’m not saying they didn’t run into a bit of luck or have a helping hand along the way. But what I am saying is we tend to look at these people and these lifestyles differently than we do ourselves.

Yeah, it’s challenging. Not everyone can create the next Amazon.

But you start to look at things a bit different when you realize you’re only competing against yourself. Not your neighbor. Not Mr. Bezos. You.

Stop comparing your 2nd chapter to someone’s 22nd.

If the greats looked at those ahead of them and gave up before even starting, we wouldn’t have Shakespeare or Hemingway or Mozart or any of the other legends.

Look at those ahead of you as motivation to become better, not as an indication to feel bad about yourself.

Remember, we all start somewhere.

Compare yourself to yesterday’s version of you and don’t disappoint tomorrow’s version of yourself.

Because your story is yet to be written. So pick up the pen and get to work.

Never stop dreaming,

Connor

❓This Week’s Question

What does your 22nd chapter look like in comparison to your 2nd? What will you be doing in this chapter of your life? Where will you be? Who will you be with?

Feel free to reply to this email with your response. I’d love to hear!

💭 This Week’s Quote