My natural approach to most things is competitive. It‘s one of my strongest lenses. A fun and useful skill I’ve developed is to view things competitively without making it a win/lose competition between me and someone else. It means looking for value and advantage that doesn’t come at the expense of others. Where can I create strategic competitive value that doesn’t undermine anyone else?
I prefer not to win at the expense of others, unless it’s a specific and directly competitive situation we’ve chosen to participate in like a game. In that setting I want to compete, dominate, and win. No lie. In other settings I want to compete, gain as many advantages as I can, and use those advantages to help people win.
Yesterday I mentioned that the list of 14 Mental Traps That Hold People Hostage has immense personal value. They not only prevent you from being the best version of you, I believe they prevent you from being the real version of you, which is the best version of you. It’s not competitive at all. It’s 100% personal.
When I use my competitive lens though, I see something bigger. I see relatively easy value to grab and massive advantage to be gained if I can avoid or overcome those 14 Mental Traps. Where others get defensive, I want to be accountable. Where others back away, I want to engage. Where others sit in comfort, I want to push forward.
It’s a major aspect of how I Embrace the Chase. If 99% of people ultimately get stopped by something from that list, my first responsibility and biggest advantage is not ever being stopped by something on that list. Breaking through to elite begins with the internal work to overcome my self-imposed limitations. The larger environment is too competitive for me to waste any time competing with myself.
Embrace the Chase. Do the work.
PS - For all you loyal podcast listeners, next Monday we’re making a big announcement you don’t want to miss. If you haven’t listened to our podcast yet, it’s the perfect time to start. Stay tuned . . .
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