Who Is Your Biggest Competition?

Yesterday we recorded Episode #83 of the Podcast and on it we talked about competition.

(It will be out tomorrow so you can listen in then)

This is a topic we’ve talked about before but this time we used a different context or lens to look at it through. You see most high performers use competition to drive things forward.

We see this play out daily with companies like Apple, Oppo and Samsung all battling it out for who can put out the best smartphone and win the most market share. Sporting events like Bathurst, where Ford and Holden see who can create the car which accelerates the fastest, handles corners the best and has the best brakes so they don’t have to slow down so far away from the corner.

When used in the gym, competition can be a great way to keep us moving forwards and the beauty is it doesn’t have to be against other people. The reason I love CrossFit and continue to even after nearly 10 years of training this way is I am able to use my own previous benchmarks to continually push me.

Sure this can also take on a negative side too. When you start comparing yourself against others and becoming disappointed in your own efforts because somebody else can go faster, lift heavier or do more reps than you… If this is you remember this quote: “Comparison is the thief of joy” - Theodore Roosevelt.

So if you’re reading this and wondering what my takeaway is here it is…

If used correctly competition is the greatest tool we have for driving our own performance forward. What you need to remember though, is not to get caught up in what others are doing because this is outside of your control and any effort spent worrying about what others are doing is not going to help you set new benchmarks for yourself…