Be the person you look up to
We all have certain people we look up to and follow on social media. They are most likely doing something we would like to do, but aren’t — probably because we are doubting ourselves, too afraid to commit, too lazy to do the work needed, or for some other reason.
I have this one guy that I’ve been following for a while. He’s producing great content and is into the same things I am. A few years back he decided to run a marathon, and that inspired me to do the same. I wouldn’t say that it was directly because he did it, but he’s even bigger than me so it certainly showed me that my size isn’t preventing me from running a marathon. Setting a goal to work towards, and doing some disciplined training looked like something I would enjoy. These small sparks, combined with my own interests and goals, led me to run my first marathon.
The same guy then went on to do an Ironman. This might have been before I ran my first marathon, I’m not sure. Anyway, I remember seeing this man complete an Ironman and I was speechless. I thought that was the coolest thing ever. One week after I completed my first marathon, a friend asked me if I ever will run another one. I answered “no way”. It sucked. A few weeks later, after letting it sink in — I started to appreciate the whole process and experience, feeling like I wanted to do something similar again. When I was trying to figure out things I could do, this guy I looked up to doing an Ironman kept popping up in my mind. So I decided that I would do an Ironman. At this point, I couldn’t swim and I didn’t own a bike.
This isn’t a story about me “copying” what someone else is doing (and I don’t see it as copying, either. I see it as getting inspired and getting ideas from this person). It’s about me looking up to this guy, putting him on some kind of pedestal. But guess what, I finished the marathon and the Ironman — both faster than he did. You shouldn’t compare yourself to others, and actually can’t in these kinds of races because there are so many variables that affect the time — but in this case, I’m doing it. Here I am admiring this guy doing things I could only dream of doing. I then make the decision to do the same, I commit, I put in the work — and I do them “better” (for a lack of a better word) than the guy I’ve been looking up to this whole time. Guess what that’s telling me? I can do whatever I set my mind to.
I’ve faced the same thing in business. Fresh out of school, I looked up to these “higher-ups” at certain companies. To me, it looked like they were successful and had everything figured out. Through my business, I’ve gotten to work together with a lot of these people — and guess what? They aren’t as successful as I once thought. They don’t know everything (in fact, in most cases it’s the complete opposite).
Be the person you look up to
I’m sure we all have someone we look up to, that are doing things we could only dream of. Things that seem impossible for us to do. Those “things” seem to be too far away, like something we could never achieve or do. So we decide to not even try.
Instead, acknowledge that these people aren’t better than you. They are just a bit deeper into that specific journey. Make the commitment and put in the work. Soon you will see that they are no better than you. Don’t compare yourself to them, compare yourself to yourself. Be the person you look up to.
