Compare yourself to where you were yesterday; not to where others are today.

Compare yourself to where you were yesterday; not to where others are today.

Unless you are an Olympic triathlete who is trying to be the best in the world (and even then there is truth to this rule), there is not much point comparing yourself to where others are today.

The incredible thing about sport (and most things in life, actually) is that you can become better at it over time. Life is one, big opportunity for us to improve our ability to run, bike, swim, work, play, love, create - everything you do can be improved.

And while the thought that you have not mastered anything in life can be depressing, it should actually be a huge weight off everyone’s shoulders. There is nothing that you are perfect at doing - and that means you are FREE!

In reality, most people stress themselves over becoming perfect at whatever they spend their time doing. Whether it be sports, school, career or other personal pursuits, focus on the peak of the mountain will only bring anxiety, stress and a tsunami of negative self-talk and doubt.

Is this to say that personal improvement is not important? That there is no point trying to be the best one can be?

ABSOLUTELY NOT!

It is focusing on the path ahead and being truly aware of where you are and where you have come from.

Like every mountaineer begins their ascent to the peak of Mount Everest with a single step, we too must begin somewhere. And that journey to the top does not merely happen by focusing on the top. It edges closer and closer when focusing on each individual step. Oxygen levels are so low on the climb that it can take several minutes just to muster a few steps.

In fact, if you read many of the countless books and biographies about climbers you will notice that the most common phrase is “one step at a time”. Many mountaineers, when recounting surviving Everest’s frozen graveyard, state that focusing on one step at a time is what saved their lives.

Focus on where you are today in comparison to where you were yesterday.

Have you improved in your swimming technique over the past month? Have you taken time off your half marathon since the last time you ran a half?

While triathlon is a race against others, it is primarily a race within one’s own self. It is a battle to be faster, fitter and stronger than you were yesterday.

Here’s the kicker: IF you truly have what it takes to become the best, it WILL happen while you are in the pursuit of your own personal victories. It will happen because you have been focusing on the factors that you can indeed control.

When we focus on the top of the mountain, we cannot control where the peak is located. We cannot control what the conditions of the mountain are. But we can control our own steps towards the top.

Focus a little more on what you can control, and less on those things that just simply are. No one can control where others’ performances are today. But when working hard to improve your own abilities, you will find over time that you have had complete control of where you have ended up.

Make sure that when you look back you are miles ahead of where you were last year, last month, last week - yesterday.