you vs you

End of the day, it’s you vs you.

Every time we compete in something, we try to do better than the next person.

As long as I run faster than him, I win.
As long as I score higher than her, I’m good.

We all want to be first, don’t we?

Especially growing up in this environment where we are pressured ever since we come out of the womb, to do this, that, and a thousand other things. Not only to ‘do’, but to excel.

That’s our world. A competitive ass one.

Face it, it’s a dog-eat-dog world.

And you gotta be the biggest dawg out here.

In all seriousness though, one thing I learned the hard way is this.

Nice guys do finish last.

And no I don’t mean in relationships (but yes they do), I mean in the general world.

You can NOT be a pushover.

You cannot be the type of person who is swayed easily, who doesn't have a spine or a brain cell to yourself.

You cannot be the person who doesn’t walk their talk and talk their walk.

You can NOT be the person who doesn’t stand their ground.

And no, you cannot be the best if you compare yourself with everyone else.

The guy who crosses the person in 2nd place will end up being 2nd place.

Think bigger. Think first. Think best.

My only competition is me. My opponent is the person I was yesterday.

As long as I outperform the person I was a day before, even by a milli-fraction, I WIN.

And if I keep doing that every day, I automatically end up being better than everyone at what I do.

Think about it! Logically, it’s like competing with a day-old version of yourself.

That’s how it should be.

You did 10 reps yesterday, you do 11 today.

Not 13 or 15, 11 is enough. It’s still 1 rep more than no progress.

There’s also a problem with outdoing yourself by a mile.

The human mind loves to anticipate.

The wait for the gift is tenfold more pleasurable than the gift itself. It’s the dopamine in play.

We are biologically programmed to WANT things.

That is why once we get the things we want, we realize it’s not that big a deal anyway, moving on to wanting the next thing.

Likewise, let’s say my goal is to do 20 reps of an exercise in the gym.

I do 10 today.

Instead of doing 11, I get excited and push to 13.

Good! You overachieved.

The problem is the next day. You won’t be able to do past 13. Since you squeezed those last 3 reps out, you now stagnate at 13 reps, or maybe even 12.

Because of this, your mental gets all sad, and considers the day a failure.

The next day, you still end up stagnating at 13. Your mental lowers even further.

And the next day, you don’t even attempt over 13, ‘cause the mind is fixed that 13 is your limit.

And boom.

You literally blocked yourself from achieving your own goals.

Moral of the story: Have small wins.

Big wins are what life’s about.

But small wins ensure that you keep winning.

And more importantly, small wins are what ensure that YOU know that you are on a winning streak.

The most important thing is that your mind should know that you are winning. letting in no room for doubt or distraction.

You do that by breaking down the bigger goal into smaller milestones.

Reward yourself with every checkpoint, have a ‘lil fun.

If you want to be better than the next person, sure compare yourself.

But if you are like me, who wants to leave behind a legacy?

Battle yourself.

Because at the end of the day…

it’s you vs you.

Update: Small rebranding of the logo, let me know if y’all like it!

I’ve been hearing a ton of good feedback about these dials lately, how it’s helping you think better and differently. I can’t express enough how much that means to me.

So share this newsletter with them, tell ‘em about it, talk about it. Only if you like it that much ;)

Reach out to me on Instagram as well, I reply quick. ⚡

As always, I hope you have the best of days.

Godspeed.