There is Only One Way to Compete with Yourself
Learning how to compete with yourself is by far the best performance hack you can apply in your life without spending any money. When you compete with yourself you always have a competitor around to motivate you. On the other hand, you can only compete with others when others are around. Understanding this simple fact is a game changer.
As Proverbs 27:17 states, iron sharpens iron. So, when you are your own iron, you can constantly be in the process of sharpening. In addition, when your #1 competitor is the man/woman in the mirror, all outside competitors become just sparring partners to make you better. This little mental shift is often the difference between good and great.
To this end, there is only one way to compete with yourself. To compete with yourself you must have a process to set, track, and consistently pursue personal record goals that you can break. It’s really that simple.
Goals give you a mission, which then gives you purpose, which then gives you motivation, which then gives you guard rails to self-regulate your behavior. This chain of benefits makes goal setting the critical ingredient for competing with yourself. Moreover, when you set the type of goals that allow you to set, track, and consistently pursue personal records, you will slowly start to transform into the best version of yourself.