written by Nina Cashman

It’s perfectly normal for us to allow competition to make us feel a little anxious from time-to-time. You know the feeling, the sense of your stomach dropping when you see someone else in your space doing something truly magnificent that you maybe haven’t gotten around to yet. Or simply dealing with the basic questions of “am I as good as that person?” or, “am I capable of doing it as well as them?” When you find yourself comparing yourself to others, it’s important to acknowledge that greatness can only be seen by those who possess it themselves.

When you see greatness in others – in what they do, how they look, dress, speak, write, create, lead or think – these talents are embodied through the eyes of the beholder. This means that the same qualities you recognize as superior in someone else, also reside directly within you. These qualities might just be waiting for you to expose or tap into them. This means that anything you view as better outside of yourself is actually unlocked potential residing directly within you.

The next time you allow competition to make you feel threatened, think about how you can reframe your thinking to allow it to inspire you instead. Think about what YOU can do to embody the same greatness that you are readily capable of seeing in others. This might mean that it’s time for you to visit the gym, try on a new outfit, write an inspirational blog post, create a marketing plan, lead a motivational meeting for your team, or simply find space within your day to focus and think about how to tackle some of your biggest priorities.

Allow the greatness that you see in others to inspire you to be better than you are today. If you are truly inspired; then heck, pick-up the phone or write your competition an email and ask ‘em to tell you a little more about how they made their secret sauce. The fact that you noticed something amazing about what they’ve done, may be all the signaling you need to start developing these very same qualities for yourself. In other words, competition that causes you to recognize what you don’t have, might be the best motivation there is to recognize your own untapped potential.

So, is competition a threat or is it inspiration? When you allow competition to inspire you to work, grow and develop, you may surprise, or better yet, inspire yourself of your own capabilities.