There Will Always Be Somebody…

Faster, stronger, taller, leaner, smarter, richer, quicker, etc.

Any or all the above and more; there will always be somebody somewhere who you’ll find has an advantage over you in those regards. Some of you will say, “So what’s the point?” with respect to trying to be better and give up.  Others will say, “That’s exactly the point!” and they’ll give up too. A third group of responders will say, “I see that person as a source of inspiration of what could be, but I’m not competing with them in the first place – and that’s the point!”

Are you out to be better than everybody you know or are you out to be the best you can be – just measuring yourself against your own history? You don’t after all have any control over someone else’s training schedule, diet, study habits, stamina, investments, etc. In fact, you only have control over what you do yourself; and over this you have full control.

It’s you that drives change dependent upon how much effort you’re willing to invest in making what you want to come about in your own future. Commit to improving and you set a mentality in motion. Give in, give up, give out and you stay the course, possibly even degrade and diminish.

So exactly what are we looking at here? Self-improvement I suppose. You could opt to be the best you can be or you could opt to be a better you than you are at the moment. Quite often seeking to be a better you in whatever area of your life you are looking at is a preferred option. After all, the absolute best you could be sounds like it requires maximum effort; perhaps an unwavering effort because no matter how much you improve, you could always be better than that new level of improvement.

Seeking to better yourself on the other hand means putting in more effort, not the most effort, and if you’re stuck at the moment frustrated with yourself that you’re just not making ANY effort, some seems more attainable than expecting yourself to make a complete 180 and go at change with 100% commitment.

If you’re looking to lose weight and you want to shed a sizable number of pounds, motivating yourself to cut your weight little by little, a few pounds a week can be very motivating. Expecting 10 pounds a week by crash dieting and working out with extreme intensity when you haven’t worked out for 25 years is just a recipe for extreme disappointment and letdown. Not to mention of course, it puts you in danger.

Now job searching? Ah again with the hunt for employment! It works the same way. A lot of people have spent years trying to decide, “what to be.” They think about careers, worry themselves sick (literally) with worry. Ironically trying to ‘be’ like everyone else, who knows their purpose in life, have found meaningful work to do, and who make it all seem so easy. Why are they comparing themselves to others in the first place? They live their lives, you live yours. Your path is unique to you, as is theirs to them.

Improving your own fortunes might be what you’re after in a job. Maybe its financial independence, getting the money to buy a cottage and boat. Maybe for you it’s about making a difference in the lives of others; finding fame and glory, owning your own business and calling the shots. Or maybe it’s really just about finding something you don’t hate, that ‘loving’ your job seems too extreme. You’d be happy just finding steady income and having someplace to get to in the morning when you rise.

My advice is to look around at what others do for sources of inspiration. Ask people what they do, if they like their jobs or careers, how long it took them to land in the jobs they have, what they did before they found what they’re doing today. Sure, as I say, look around for inspiration and get ideas about what’s out there. However, you’re unique from everyone else is everyone you know. What’s seemingly right and a great fit for others may not be right and the best fit for you.

I’m glad you want to be better; that you want more for yourself in the future than you have at this moment. Being a better you is really a good and healthy personal choice. Being the best you can possibly be might sound impressive – and it truly does – but that comes with extreme personal accountability and responsibility that you probably aren’t ready to commit to given where you are at the moment. In other words, you’re setting yourself up for setbacks, disappointment and increased stress brought on yourself by no one other than you.

Being better means you’re committing to being better but not being infallible. You’ll have days where you blow the diet, fail to job search or lose money on an investment. The key is you know these will happen but overall you have days with more effort than you’re putting out at the present. You’re overall movement is forward; you’re improving and getting better.

Being the best you can be might sound good at first thought but be out of reach. Being a better you is extremely commendable and far more realistic. Absolutely nothing wrong with setting your sights on personal improvement.

Written By Kelly Mitchell

There Will Always Be Somebody… was originally published @ Employment Counselling with Kelly Mitchell and has been syndicated with permission.