Don't beat others, beat yourself

The road to the pinnacle of success

There are some myths about success. One of the most eminent on is "Don't beat others, beat yourself". This the myth that I want to discuss today.

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I'd like to pick some sentences spoken by the famous Basketball player and coach Sir John Wooden. He said,

"Always try to learn from others instead of trying to be better than them. Never leave the courage to be the best as you can. You can control one, but can't control the other one."

From this sentence, we can get a clear idea of how he approached in his life towards success.

Another example from his life can be picked up from the book he wrote named Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court. He told about his coaching strategies. He said that he'd told his players that they couldn't control what the opposition do to get ready. The only thing they could control was what they themselves could do to get ready. These strategies came to work for him and his team.

Thinking deeply about this fact, it can easily be realized that your life is not for thinking what others do. Your life is just for thinking about what you do and how you do. There is no outcome if you think of what others do. Just prepare yourself for the battle. Don't think about others to be your rival on the battlefield. You are the only rival of yourself. None can ever be your rival. They may do whatever they want. You just need to try and try to overtake you. Not them. If you keep overtaking yourself, your win is inevitable. This matter is absolutely right in the playground, battlefield, as well as every part of your life.

Don't think about beating others. Always try to make a better you tomorrow than that of today. Keep beating yourself every day. That'll be the key to your success.

Sir Wooden made this myth as his motto. We still remember him. Why? Because he was successful making this as his motto. If you make this as your motto, you are guaranteed to be successful. You may not become sir wooden, but success will come surely. Or who knows you can be one who will be remembered more than sir Wooden.

Very insightful!
The victory over ourselves is the most important. The desire to always strive and never to give up.

I love this maxim that don't beat others, beat yourself. Definitely, this will help in achieving targets in life.

Totally agree on being the better version on ourselves every single day. Sometimes I do it every moment. It keeps me on track. I'll catch myself when I slip up and it has made me realise the importance of moving forward. Thank you for this insightful post @zaku :)

Great advice! I believe that a healthy mix of measuring your ups and downs agaisnt other people's as well as against those of your past self (through the documentation of your past efforts) is great. As long as you learn how not to take things too personal and that the things that matter are learning, fixing and improving, you will be taking steady steps towards success.

Very interesting read! I love the quote from Sir John Wooden. I shall remember that every time I feel like I am not good enough.

I am always negative, I do not grow up and I am angry about it, I would like some advice that could help me. And I do believe in success, I just do not make an effort to get there

Yes... go out and try every day... and end of the year you get what you want :)

Love the post! Being a better version of yourself every day is the surest way to succeed in life.

Beating yourself is a biggest challenge than beating others.

Solid advice,

Looking to focus ourselves on our own progression and comparing ourselves against our own standards rather than that of others definitely helps one stay motivated in our pursuits. We can always be better than ourselves if we consistently do the work!

Thanks!

Hmm As they says don't try to change the world change yourself!

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