Your responsibility is to be better than yourself, not to compare with others. Ask, “How much better am I than yesterday?” You are on your own journey. Competing with others is neither wise nor possible. Focus on where you started and where you are today. The real battle is not with others but with yourself. The question is always, “How far have I come?” That’s the essence of wisdom and bravery—being your own best self through constant self-improvement.
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Questioner: How can one overcome the fear of mediocrity? How can you not feel insufficient? How to feel content with one’s work and remain motivated to improve even if you do not feel that way?
For example, I might be working on some project where I have put in a lot of effort, but it is still not that good, and I can see that especially when I compare it with the works of others. I see how much better they are, and I feel that of all the normal people in the class, I am not special at all. So, can one deal with that?
Acharya Prashant: No, your responsibility is to be better than yourself. You are not to calibrate yourself against other people. Please get this right, because you all are young and competitive. You have to ask yourself, “How much better I am compared to what I was yesterday?” You are on your own individual journey. It is not possible or wise to compare yourself against others.
You have to ask yourself, “I started from this particular point, yesterday I was at this particular level—where am I today?” That has to be the consideration: playing against yourself, being your own best self.
