07/28/25
Mary is driving from New York City to Los Angeles.
She just left an hour ago to meet up with friends who are also making the same road trip to LA.
Her friends left 2 days ago.
Laura, one of Mary’s friends who’s in the other car, calls and says…
“We’re driving through New Mexico, about 12 hours away. We’re so excited to get there!”
Mary looks at her map and sees that she still has 40 hours to go.
She’s frustrated, knowing that Laura is only 12 hours away, and she still has so much more driving to do.
In that comparison, she feels like she’s so far behind Laura, and it’s deeply upsetting her.
Her mind keeps repeating the fact that Laura and her friends are so far ahead, so she might as well just turn around and go back home.
If you had a chance to talk to Mary, what would you say to her?
It’ll probably sound something like…
“Mary, they left 2 days ago, and you only left an hour ago. Of course they’re going to get there sooner. They’ve been driving for over 24 hours, and your journey just started. How could you compare where you are to where Laura is?”
This makes logical sense, doesn’t it?
Then WHY do we fall into such silly comparisons when we see someone else “further along” on their journey than we are?
If someone is achieving at a perceived higher level or is getting better results, it could be for a number of different factors.
They could have started their journey earlier than you have.
They could have resources that aren’t available to you.
They could have been given an opportunity that hasn’t been presented to you yet.
There are so many factors here to consider, so why even compare yourself to anyone else? Why would you do that?
Their journey is theirs.
Your journey is yours.
Rather than compare yourself to others…
Compare where you were yesterday to where you are today.
If Mary took this approach, she would simply be checking her progress as she drives from NYC to LA, ensuring she’s moving forward in the right direction.
She wouldn’t compare herself to where Laura is, because that’s completely illogical.
I invite you to take the same approach.
Drop comparison.
Focus on your progress.
Rooting for you,
Jay (encouraging you to only compare yesterday’s “you” to today’s “you”)
