Avoid the comparison trap and run your own race

Avoid the comparison trap and run your own raceAvoid the comparison trap and run your own raceThis is Lesson 6 in our 10-part series on getting what you really want out of life. Were talking goals, dreams, and calling - all stuff I love.Ive been sharing my story of not only becoming a writer but learning a lot of other lessons - like the importance of not comparing myself to others. Run your own race has become a bit of a mantra to me lately.Sidenote if youre enjoying this series, check out one of Michael Hyatts upcoming live trainings on goal-setting. He is the Grand Poobah of this stuff, and Ive learned so much from him.Click here to see a list of dates and times.Also, if you need to get caught up on this series, here are the previous lessons (including audio versions with some bonus material)Lesson 1Find your whoLesson 2Decide not to driftLesson 3Set habits, not goalsLesson 4Measure the processLesson 5Seek feedback, ignore criticismAll right. On with the next one Note To listen to the audio of this lesson, click here.Lesson 6 Run your own raceThe other day, I postedsomething snarky on FacebookSo how do you use social media without hating everyone?To be honest, I was just venting. Im a pretty insecure rolle and can easily get jealous of what other people are doing. And I wanted to know if I was the only one who did that.I received a lot of interesting responses.One person told me to pray more. Another person told me to unfriend everyone. But one person said thisJust remember that everyone deep down just wants to feel loved and important. Anything you see stems from that.I loved that, because thats what I want. To feel loved and important. And usually, I feel pretty good about my life - my goals, my dreams, my accomplishments - until I see someone doing better than me.I know not everyone is this way, but I am. Its a sickness, I think - this fear of missing out, the comparison trap we often find ourselves in.But it doesnt have to be this way.Sure, ignoring people helps some of the time. But sometimes, its just hard to ignore everyone all the time.About a year ago, I learned a crucial lesson. I was drowning in stress and overcome with resentment about my situation. On the outside, I looked like I was winning I had a seven-figure business, a bestselling book, and hundreds of thousands of fans. But inside, I was miserable.All I could think about was what I wasnt doing. What I wasnt achieving. What I had to yet to do. And it was eating me up inside.A number of people helped me get out of that funk, and I detail all of ithere in this article.I am now a lot healthier and happier. But I can still drift into the comparison mode and find myself not enjoying what Im doing.Theres one simple phrase that Ive held onto all this time. It was given to me by a friend who was desperately trying to beat everyone around him in a marathon (like, a literal marathon), and one of the people he was running beside shouted at himRun your own race.Thats become a sort of mantra for me. I dont have to compare myself to other people, because we are all playing different games. Thats the fun part. We get tochoose the games we play, the crafts we want to master.When I hear a friend sharing about his biggest month ever, I can quietly tell myself Run your own race.When I see someones highlight reel on Facebook, I dont have to be mad or assume theyre lying. I can just remind myself that this is not my life. What someone else is doing has no bearing on what I do. Thats their race. I need to run my own.And when I worry about not doing enough and really not being enough, I can quietly say to myselfThis is your race. Run it well.Because, really, thats what we all want, isnt it? To do the thing that only we can do - and to do it well.So if you struggle with comparison and jealousy as I do, let me say to youRun your own race. Jeff GoinsTheres really nothing else for you to do. Cover bands dont change the world, as my friend Todd Henry likes to say. A nd you wont change anything trying to be someone else.Let me say that againYou wont change anything trying to be someone else.Run your own race.See you at the finish line.Thisarticlefirst appeared on Goins, Writer.