This is a good question. It’s hard. The people around you either lift you up or drag you down, and once you get to a point where the majority of people drags you down, it’s hard to get to the next level.
The way I like to look at it is that I’m in a competition with everyone and no one.
Let me explain.
I’m in competition with no one, because nobody is living the exact same life as me. Nobody has had the same experiences, wants to reach the same goals or does the same mix of things I do.
This is true for you too. It’s true for everyone.
We all have different definitions of success, we all have different ideas of what happiness is and we all take different paths to get there.
Nobody lives the exact same life as you. So technically, you’re not competing with anyone in the game of life.
This is a great source of motivation, because it means you’re the only runner in your race – if you run long enough, you’ll win.
That said, I’m in competition with everyone.
When I’m at school, depending on where I go, there are 10, 20, 50, sometimes 200 people in the same room as me, trying to get ahead.
Some of them work for a few hours, then go home. Most of them stay for a long time, but don’t do anything really. Very few stay long and actually get shit done.
Whenever I enter that room, I’m playing to win. My goal is to be the most productive guy there. On days where I’m the first to be there and the last to go, I feel really proud.
Not because I’ve out-studied, out-earned or out-scored people – because I’ve out-worked them.
This is a great source of motivation, because when it comes to the game of life, you’re one of over 7 billion runners – only if you run fast enough, you’ll win.
Once you start competing with people on work ethic instead of results, knowing you’re playing your own game of life, you can find motivation anywhere and everywhere.
