Who do you consider as your toughest competition, why ?

In the evolution of life, our journey starts ‘from Outside in’. These are our formative years, whether in Life or in a Career, where we observe, learn, absorb, get trained, practice…. We absorb most inputs from external source to improve & form ourselves. Time comes in life when this flow needs to be largely reversed,’ from Inside Out’, where all the ‘wealth‘ accumulated over years, including the hard earned experiences needs to be leveraged (put to application) & used for creating a greater advantage for the rest of the World !

This is where we need to learn more from ourselves. Reflection should take over as the prime process more than absorption out… This is the process of inner journey – self discovery. This is where the points / frame of reference should move from outside to be internalized… the center of motivation, center of feedback--- we should start derive our sense of being / sense of self, from within & not vis-à-vis what the world thinks of us.

It is at this stage that our title question is important: Who do you consider as your toughest or best competition ?

Your best competition is with you (Self). If you want to be more competitive , focus on self improvement--- The best person to guide you in this journey is… YOU ! There is a Sanskrit Subhashit (verse with wise meaning) which says that we are (oneself) our best friend & our worst enemy ! Here is reason why:

• It is the competitor , you are most well informed about :  Only competition you'll always have complete & authentic information about .One person you can’t hide from, is you . Similarly you can’t lie to / mislead yourself . On the other hand one person you can’t afford to misread is you ! You need to know YOURSELF well .
• It is the Real Competition, which is internal , external competition is always deceptive & transient. Competition with self is eternal (always there).
• It is progressive - Presumably, you'd always be a better person tomorrow than today , every day.
• It is Constructive  You can’t work against your own interest, or to put you down . External can be mutually destructive.
• It is proactive Here you aim to be better yourself , unlike external competition , where your moves are mostly reactive .
• This is one competition which Is absolute in nature and is under your complete control !  External competition is ALWAYS ' relative';

Competition with self is the toughest not just because it is difficult to outpace one , every day; but also because , there is no way to hide – no way to cheat.

A story goes about Abraham Lincoln: He used to stand in front of mirror everyday and ask a question " Am I a better person today , than I was yesterday “. Even if this story is untrue (did not happen) the principle it holds out is most potent, penetrating & beautiful.

You get outdated everyday --- like the knife which gets blunt with every use.

It is like making a onetime deposit (your degrees / qualification) in your  ‘self investment ‘ account – when you had your last degree; and continuously drawing cheques / encashment (your promotions, salary raises, job changes)…. Without even further depositing into the account. No wonder time comes when your cheques will start ‘bouncing‘…..where no further encashment is possible & you feel stagnated, many times you not realizing–Why.

The question now is: What do you need to do. For you to be competitive , the mantra is : Know your competition well ! If you are competing with self , which is the best option , you need get to know yourself well. It’s your journey of self discovery ! It is more Inside out than Outside In.

Have more, regular sessions of self introspection & reflection. Taking this process to a higher level; will be to connect with your inner self (Atma) as prescribed in our ancient philosophy.

There are many tools / mechanisms available to guide your journey like: My learning book, No appointment day / week. But key question is how much time do you spend on yourself v/s how much time investment in self you think is worthwhile.

For more details: Email: [email protected] or log on to https://powerfulperspectives.coach/

About the Author:

With 34 years of corporate experience Yatin Samant brings with him, proven track record of successful business outcomes. His work experience spans different business phases of an organization , like a startup’s life cycle from base zero to growth and in few cases turn around. Yatin has the experience of heading strategic business units and managing Profit & Loss positions for corporates, for over 20 years. His big achievement has been taking an organization from Rs 2 crores to 200 crores in a decade. He is an excellent communicator, with wide perspective, strategic thinking, and leadership development. Add to that, customer focus, action orientation and capacity building which form the very foundation for his coaching.