From Envy To Inspiration

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A competitive environment exposes two types of people: those who are inspired by another person's success story, and then there are the ones who choose to be envious, jealous, and consumed by hatred.

Among these two categories of people mentioned above, we already know who would succeed in a healthy competition and which is toxic. Well, at least I know because I have been in both situations. Although, the hatred was channeled to myself and not the people that I envied.

Before now, I used to hate competitions a lot because it brought out the worst in me. I practiced it in the most unhealthy of ways. Not to mention in a very toxic manner too.

Back then, I was constantly comparing myself to those doing better than me, and I hated how it made me feel. Instead of feeling inspired, I felt worthless and would say so many unkind words to myself for not measuring up to what I perceived as the standards for growth.

During those moments, I failed to realize that life is an individual journey enriched with experiences that are unique to each persons. This ignorance caused me, as gradually the unhealthy practice of mine plunged me into a depressed state that I didn't know how to pull out from. I got so engrossed in other people's lives that mine became irrelevant.

In those dark times, my growth process felt stagnant, and I would always cry about it. I wasn't even aware how irritable I had become until a friend set me straight by talking some sense into me on the importance of gratitude, which was something I lacked then.

On the flip side, that pep talk became a game changer. Not just that but it acted as a compass by which I was able to retrace my steps and remained on the positive side of being competitive.

I reevaluated my ideology on the concept of competition and saw that the only person that I needed to be better than was who I was in the previous moment, and instead of envy of another person's journey, I drew inspiration. Inspirations I tailored to suit my own growth process by applying them when needed.

I am aware that not everyone could be lucky enough to have a friend look out for them and guide them. I also know that there are individuals who have to figure out life by themselves. For such categories of people, a simple yet effective advice is to be aware that if it's healthy, it won't hurt.

Basically, it's ok to evaluate your life once in a while with the lives of those around you. Sometimes, we might have the sense of over-accomplishment, which might lead us to want to slack off.

In such moment, a little mental boost is needed because knowing that there's always someone doing better than you should be a motivation to always leave room for improvements. Life is not static, and as passengers on the journey called life, we ought to be dynamic and move with trend.

Personally, I never want to be the unsuccessful one amongst my peers. While I might not be as successful, I always want to have things happening for me, no matter how small.

Just the other day I realized I was due to go back to school when my friend told me about having his doctorate degree. He asked that I refer to him as Dr henceforth, and that was a wake-up call to challenge myself and upgrade.

Afterwards, I did access my emotions and I saw that I didn't feel threatened, inferior, or envious. Instead, I felt motivated, and that gave me the sense to embark on my own journey of intellectual improvements. After the assessment, I couldn't help but be proud of myself, as I'd say that to a great extent, I have mastered the art of a healthy competition.