Last Saturday afternoon, I found myself sitting on a park bench watching my daughter and her friend race across the playground for what felt like the hundredth time. Each dash to the swings ended with my daughter’s shoulders slumping slightly, her eyes fixed on her friend who consistently reached the destination first.

“She’s always faster than me,” my daughter confessed later as we walked home, her voice carrying that mixture of admiration and defeat that cuts straight to a mother’s heart. “And she gets better grades in math too. I try really hard, but I can’t catch up.”

I knelt down, meeting her eyes level with mine. “Sweetheart, do you know what matters more than being faster than someone else? Being faster than you were yesterday. That’s the only race that truly counts.”

Her furrowed brow told me this concept needed time to sink in, and honestly, don’t we all struggle with this same lesson well into our adult years?

As grown-ups, we may have left playground races behind, but we’ve simply exchanged them for more sophisticated forms of comparison. We scroll through carefully curated social media feeds, measuring our ordinary Tuesday against someone else’s highlight reel. We glance sideways in meetings, wondering why our colleague’s presentation received more praise or why that parent at school seems to balance everything so effortlessly while we’re barely keeping our heads above water.

We exhaust ourselves trying to run someone else’s race, forgetting the fundamental truth that everyone starts from different points, faces unique challenges, moves at their own pace, and heads toward entirely different destinations. Your colleague who seems to have it all together might be struggling with invisible battles you know nothing about. The friend whose business is thriving might have had advantages, connections, or experiences completely different from your own.

Society conditions us from childhood to view life as one big competition. From grade school rankings to college admissions, from performance reviews to social media metrics; we’re constantly encouraged to measure ourselves against others rather than against our own potential and progress.

Think about it, how often have you experienced stress, felt anxious or sad because you weren’t achieving at the same level as everyone else around you? How many sleepless nights have you spent wondering why you haven’t reached certain milestones that others your age seem to have conquered with ease?

This constant comparison doesn’t fuel our growth, it depletes it. As human beings, our primary fuel is actually connection and collaboration. We thrive when we lift each other up, not when we’re frantically trying to outpace one another.

Progress over perfection. Your pace is perfect for your path. These aren’t just feel-good phrases, they’re liberating truths that can transform how you approach your journey.

When I finally learned to celebrate my unique timeline instead of anxiously measuring it against others’, I discovered something powerful: comparison robs us of clarity and gratitude. It blinds us to our own achievements and steals the joy from our personal victories.

Life should not be a competition against one another! The only meaningful measurement is whether you’re growing, learning, and moving forward on your own authentic path.

So, the next time you find yourself slipping into comparison mode, gently bring yourself back with this reminder: Your journey is uniquely yours! The twists, turns, setbacks, and victories all belong to your story alone. Celebrate that incredible uniqueness and run your race at your own pace.

I invite you to take a moment of reflection today. Ask yourself: “Where in my life have, I been running someone else’s race instead of my own?” Then consider: “What would change if I focused only on becoming better than I was yesterday?” If you’re finding it challenging to step away from comparison and into your authentic journey, know that you’re not alone. This mindset shift takes practice and sometimes support. I’m here to help you rediscover the joy of running your own race; reach out if you’d like to explore this path together.