What Ladder Do I Want to Climb?

"If we live our life comparing ourselves with others, we can easily find ourselves climbing up a long ladder to the top of a building we aren't even sure we want to be on."  John Izzo PhD

I don't think that I'm very competitive by nature and so, while I like this quote, I was wondering if it applied to me.  Do I ever work really hard to try to be good at something I don't really care much about just because I don't want to be "less than" someone else? On the other hand, do I ever not work really hard at something that I do want to become good at because I am comparing myself in advance, and the ladder seems too high, or I'm just afraid of not being able to climb as high as someone else has on that particular ladder?

I expect that I am more likely to not try something for fear of not measuring up, or at least not trying my best because then, in my mind, I can feel like I could be as good at that talent as someone else if I really wanted to try.  Neither of these ways of handling life is the best!  I need to decide intentionally what I want to do, and what I want to learn, and then climb whatever "ladder" is required to succeed regardless of who else is or isn't on the ladder, or how high they might have already climbed, or how likely it is that I will catch up, and even if there is a chance of falling off!

The best plan is to get on the ladder that leads where I want to go, and then focus on doing my best to climb that ladder while helping anyone else on the ladder that I can!

*Photo by Marc Schiele on Unsplash

Praying and Working For The Success of Others

This morning I was reading in The Five Thieves of Happiness about a girl who was trying out for a sports team and asked the coach how another player was better than her.  The coach told her to not worry about anyone else, but to focus on being the best she could be.  On hearing this the girl realized that she did not want to make the team because someone else didn't do well.  She wanted to make the team because she did well herself.  Not only did she realize this, but she realized that it would be happier, and better to encourage others to succeed.

She started praying for individuals to succeed in the things they were trying to do, and even paid to allow a person to try out for the position she played because she felt they were better than her, but they couldn't afford to play otherwise.  In the end she found that she actually played better when she was not focused on how she compared to others, but on doing her best, and on encouraging those around her.

I like this story.  It is so easy to fall into the trap of comparison even though we would all be better off praying and working for the success of others, while at the same time trying to do our best at the things we do.

*Photo by Rachel Barkdoll on Unsplash