I was in the balcony watering the November flowers. I loved how the gentle autumn breeze touched my face and made the leaves on the trees flutter. I waved at Mrs. Bradley who was enjoying her cup of coffee. My phone rang. It was Emily.

“Hey, Emily! Good morning!” I greeted. “Morning, Uncle Bob.” She replied.

“Is everything okay? You are sounding low!” I said.

“Okay? Not really! I was hoping to get promoted this year but I did not get that. I was also thinking of going for higher studies and took the exams. I didn’t qualify for that too. All my friends are pursuing their dream job or studies, and look at me! I am stuck!” She said with a breaking voice.

“Emily, the way you feel is quite natural. But, you must stop comparing yourself with your friends! That isn’t the right way to evaluate your success. Change your perspective. Not getting that promotion gives you a chance to work harder. And, for the higher studies, you need to prepare better!” I said.

“But, I feel bad and incompetent!” She replied.

“Again, your competition shouldn’t be with others but yourself. When you do that you will see that you will have the zeal to get better each day. You will set be more focused and aligned to your goal,” I replied.

She was silent for a while and then with a better sounding voice, she said, “You are right! I should try harder and not compare myself with others. This is not right! I will try improving and earn it!”

“Good! Now start afresh and don’t stay bogged down!” I said.

“Yes, I will do that! Thank you so much, Uncle Bob!” She said and then we hung up.

Everyone’s journey, experiences, and learnings are different. Hence, we should never compare and evaluate our worth on someone else’s achievements. We must check our daily progress and align it with our goals to stay focused. This will make us excel each day and pave the way for success!