Worry About Your Own Progress Wed, Nov 02, 2016
To this day there is one Loop post that has stuck with me the most: “Change Vs. Movement” which was published by Theo on May 12th (yes, I actually went back to find it). This post talks about how you may see others making huge gains in what seems like a short matter of time, while you feel like you are barely making progress. Theo then goes on to talk about how, while it may seem like others are making major improvements, we do not see their daily grind and the work they put in to get to where they are.
I wanted to bring this up because even though I know that those that are excelling are putting in a ton of work, just as I am, I find myself asking myself what they are doing right and what I am doing wrong; especially when it comes to my friends. I have several friends doing amazing things and I am constantly reminded of how well they are doing. One of them is at Harvard and has an internship with Deloitte, which is the largest professional service network in the world, all while playing Division 1 football. Another one of my close friends is studying music at UCLA and has been able to work with some amazing artists and producers in the Los Angeles area. The last one I will mention was my classmate, who is currently the number two candidate for the Heisman Trophy, Jake Browning. You may have heard his name on ESPN.
Granted all of these examples are very gifted individuals, seeing them excel at such high levels makes me question how well I am actually doing. This is when I think back to Theo’s Loop post. While it seems like my friends are making major improvements effortlessly, they all have their own obstacles to overcome every single day, just like all of us do. We all wake up every morning and go through our own grind, whether that be school, work, or practice, and we fight to become better one step at a time. So moving forward, try not to compare yourself to how much others have improved, but rather look back and see how much you have improved.
