This is a post from one of my favorite sites for inspiration www.cynthiaoccelli.com

Years ago, I started practicing yoga.  I am, by nature, very flexible, but somewhat weak in my upper body.  I recall watching with self satisfaction as my classmates struggled and suffered while trying to slide into a split that I could drop into effortlessly.  Yet, I felt envious when someone balanced their entire body on one hand and I couldn't do it on two.

Class after class, I measured myself against everyone else.  On some days, I was more capable than anyone and that meant I was successful.  Other days, I was the only one in class who couldn't do an arm balance and that meant I'd failed.  This competition, existing only in my mind, lasted months.

Then, I discovered a book about the mental and spiritual aspects of yoga.  It said that yoga done while focused on anyone other than the self wasn't yoga at all; it was ego.  Since then, I've worked to "stay on my own mat", concentrating all my attention on my own practice.  No matter how full the class is, I am alone.

As I reclaimed my attention and focus, I became even more flexible and my ability to lift myself with my arms quickly developed.  Soon, I was taking advanced classes and feeling better than I'd ever felt.  My whole practice, body and sense of self changed.

This lesson applies to life.  There will always be someone richer, poorer, older, younger, prettier, less attractive etc. Measuring oneself against others, causes perpetual vacillation between feelings of superiority and inadequacy.  It's pointless and detrimental because the energy spent on comparing isn't spent on bettering oneself.

There is only one competition and competitor, life and you.  

How to stay on your own mat:

1) When you feel small because you're comparing your accomplishments to someone else's, acknowledge it and note that you are participating in your own defeat.  Remind yourself that 100% of your power lies within and to access it you must, stay on your own mat.  Redirect your focus to loving, improving and pushing yourself to the heights of your potential.

2) Know that there is no door closed to you.  This applies to authentic desires, not ego based cravings.  (Authentic desires endure and don't require anyone else to see them in order for you to be fulfilled.  By contrast, ego based desires generally want to prove or show something to someone else.  You are the center of your universe, there is no one more worthy of seeing your fulfilled desires than you.)  Authentic desires are hardwired into you because they are the purpose of your life; they are always capable of achievement.  Only you can close the doors to your dreams.  Consciously work in the mind to keep them open. 

3) When you find yourself feeling superior to others, shake yourself out of that delirium.  Pride comes before the fall.  Imagine pasting a bulls eye to your forehead and running around an archery range.  Self aggrandizement draws negative attention from the universe and world because it is an act of separation. Life, science, spirituality and babies teach us that all suffering is borne of separation.  When you have much more than others, share your wisdom, assets and love.

It is wonderful and just that those who stay on their own mats, competing only with themselves, are among the most successful and giving people on the planet.

Photo credit: Shunpikie