A few years back I had a conversation with a man who told me he was, “Trying to keep up with the Joneses.”
I told him I didn’t think that was such a good idea.
“Why not keep up with yourself?” I said. “If the greatest athletes make themselves their greatest opponent, why not follow their lead?”
“What, you don’t think great athletes are competing against others?”
“Sure they are, but not completely. Competing against others isn’t their only measuring stick. They also use the most important measuring stick of them all, and that’s the one that tells you if you’re improving.”
“How’s that work?” he asked.
I said, “Well, if I used to run the 100-meter dash in 15 seconds, but over time I reduced my time to 14 seconds, then 12.5, then 10.8, and so on – isn’t that an accomplishment? Or should I only measure myself with Olympic Champion Usain Bolt, who ran the 100 in 9.58 seconds?”
“Uh, I never thought of it that way.”
“Most people haven’t, and that’s why they beat themselves up and tell themselves they’re no good,” I said.
“When did you first learn this?” he asked.
“My father first told me about when I was a college wrestler who desperately wanted to win. I didn’t get it. At all. But when I finally did, the weight of the world was lifted off my shoulders. I improved dramatically and victories over others got a whole lot easier. Then I forgot the lesson and had to relearn it. After I put it into play a second time, I didn’t need a third reminder.”
When I saw this man a few months later, there was something remarkably different about him. He was not only happier, he glowed.
“I’m doing much, much better,” he said. “I stopped comparing myself to the billionaires and focused on getting a little better each day in some small way. And it’s made a huge difference.”
Note that this man didn’t say he got “a lot” better each day. He focused on micro-improvements, which over time added up in a big way.
The other key words he used, “in some small way” are monumental game changers.
You cannot improve in some small way in everything each day.
A track star cannot run faster each time he trains or competes. But he or she can improve in other ways as there are always several important factors that go into the mix, and when you combine them they make the cake better.
If you don’t have a second measuring stick operating in your life yet – get one today. It doesn’t cost anything, and the payoff is huge.
Matt Furey
Recommendations:
Zero Resistance Living – the advanced course in Psycho-Cybernetics
Psycho-Cybernetics, Updated and Expanded – the classic 35-million copies best-seller
Psycho-Cybernetics 365 – a detailed daily exploration of the Psycho-Cybernetics classic by yours truly
Theatre of the Mind – my highly recommended audiobook on Audible – published by Nightingale-Conant
