When I was younger, I was quite competitive and constantly compared myself to others and looked for ways to be better than others. This summer while hiking and meeting all kinds of people from all walks of life, I got, once again, reminded that we all are pursuing our own path and that comparing ourselves to others makes little sense. As the saying goes, if we evaluate fish for their ability to climb trees, those animals will do pretty poorly.

Often when we compare others with ourselves, we use our own goals and ambitions as the measuring stick. But is most likely not at all what others are striving for. Human games are organized around direct comparison and competition, such as sports, teams in companies, such as sales, or social events, and it’s easy to get wrapped around the axel of those games.

But, in the end, there is only one comparison that really matters: are you more of who you want to become today than yesterday? So, reflect on this: are you?