Growing up, I was privileged to meet an uncle of mine who taught me a bitter truth of life. He told me “if you want to compare your performance in school, do not measure it against someone else’s but compare each and every achievement of today with that of yesterday to track your progress”.
I never understood him but getting to some point in life, I have come to realize that what he said was the real hard truth. Today, I am using it as a blessing to guide my life.
Back then, JHS and SHS specifically, there used to be a routine of who comes first or who wins or lead when it comes to examination. I was a victim of this. I always compete with one lady in class when it comes to good academic performance to the extent that, each and everyday, I keep marking her performance to compare to mine. All along, I was doing more harm than good to myself.
Since I needed to pass her, I only do route learning and whenever I think I have won, my previous performance would be better of than the winning one. If I were to have compare my own performance after each and every examination with my previous performances, I would have determined whether I am going down or up but because I compare myself to her, I get satisfied even at the least performance.
My satisfaction was based on passing her and nothing else. Surprisingly, upon completion of our second cycle education, we both came out with flying colours but with variation in the performance in relation to the various subjects. I had aggregate 12 and she had 10. I am now in the teacher training and she is equally offering a sandwich program in the university.
I got to realize that, comparing yourself to someone can never make you and the person alike or one or even make you higher than the person. It rather decreases you and build in you enviness.
Even though I always competed against someone, I didn’t ended up like her and she too didn’t end up like me. Do not be too blind to compare your achievements to what someone has today. Always try to look ahead of their prosperity. Do not settle for less because you think so so and so person is at the same level. If such person is ahead of you, let her achievement be your stepping stone not your rivalry.
If you need to compare yourself to someone you think is ahead of you, then I will encourage you to use that as a motivation but not for you to crave to be like the person. You might be brilliant today but your brilliancy would not yield the same results as that of another brilliant person.
Never undermine yourself because you think your neighbor, a friend or whoever has this or is doing this and that so you worth nothing. You possess more than enough potentials to be harnessed. If you feel like someone closer to you is prospering and you are not, the only thing you have to do is approach the person in question and inquire his or her source of making and build yours from there.
Success comes with different opportunities at different times for different persons. Stay focus.
It is well.