Whatever activity you are engaged with, either as a parent, co-worker team leader or a business owner, I think it is safe to say that it is human nature that we have a look at the person next to us to see what they are doing and how they are doing it.
In other words, we have a look at the competition.
This is absolutely no problem until it becomes a problem. This happens when you focus a little bit too much on the competition. Then, you may create limiting beliefs such as
“I’ll never be able to do that exactly like they do”.
Or
“I’ll never be promoted with those people around me”
or even
“I won’t apply for the job I want because it is highly competitive”.
When you are in that frame of mind, you end up with anxiety, frustration, stress, fear and that horrible feeling that you are running around in circles, going nowhere and feeling absolutely stuck.
Now, consider another way of viewing industry competition if you would.
As you know, the human brain was made to adapt and learn. However, we do that in completely different ways. We receive the information from the world out there and when we internalise this information we use our five senses. We use vision, sounds, smells, taste and touch.
On top of that, we have the influence of our values, the most important thing that we have. We choose to do or not to do things because of our values. We are influenced by our beliefs, that which we hold to be true.
From all this information, we make meaning and the minute we bounce this information back to the outside world, it is completely different from the person next to us.
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So, instead of focusing on the competition, focus on yourself.
Focus on creating possibilities for whatever it is you are doing. Be curious about how you are doing what you are doing. Experiment and try new things. If they work, excellent. If they don’t then change it.
Since it comes from inside, from within you, you know exactly what you can do, what you have to do and what you need to do. If you don’t have what you need then you start looking for it, for resources or for the change, until you find it.
Also, this is a natural process because it comes from you, not anybody else.
This way, there is no room for anxiety or stress or for feeling intimidated and threatened by industry competition, because it comes from you.
If you are to look at industry competition, look at it through curious eyes. Perhaps you like what they are doing. Perhaps you think it is worth adapting and change it to your abilities in a way that you feel comfortable with.
Adapt and change so you can put the stamp onto it, and who knows, make it better.
Industry competition, instead of being threatening or intimidating, can become just a different way or another way of doing the same thing once you…
- really get this process of adapting and learning, that we are all unique and we do things differently from the person next to us.
- pay attention to the process and use it in your everyday life.
Now if you at the moment are stuck completely intimidated by the competition, then let’s have a chat. Sign up for a free consultation where I can explain a little bit more about competition.
Here’s a video version of this article:
