“In a world driven by comparison, competition and status…”

In a world driven by 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙤𝙣, 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 and 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙨, it’s easy to measure our progress against others. We see their:
😄 Laughter.

💼 Possessions.

📈 Promotions.

📸 Popularity.

…and assume they have it all together. But truthfully, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘥 on their head:
😔 Emotional burdens.

🤐 Silent battles.

💔 Personal griefs.

🎒 Untold responsibilities.

🚫 𝖣𝗈 𝖭𝗈𝗍 𝖢𝗈𝗆𝗉𝖾𝗍𝖾
Do not compete with anybody in life because 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘢 𝘰𝘯𝘦-𝘴𝘪𝘻𝘦-𝘧𝘪𝘵𝘴-𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦.
Everyone is on a 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺, dealing with 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴 and 𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘥𝘴.

😷 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗟𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗕𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗲
You might admire someone’s achievements, but are you aware of:
🛌 Sleepless nights?

🩺 Health scares?

💔 Strained relationships?

behind that success?

Just as we don’t compare a 🍊 orange to a 🥭 mango,
Don’t compare your 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 2 with someone else’s 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 10.

🎬 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗱𝘄𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗕𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻
The late Black Panther star.

While he was:
🌍 Breaking boundaries on screen.

🙌🏽 Inspiring millions.

🎥 Attending premieres with smiles.

He was secretly battling colon cancer.

He never competed for pity or attention.
He simply carried his load quietly and ran his race.

📖 𝗕𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗪𝗶𝘀𝗱𝗼𝗺
John 21:21-22 — When Peter asked Jesus about John’s future,
Jesus replied:
“What is that to you? You must follow me.”

📌 It was a strong reminder that we are to:
Run our own race.

Not fixate on others.

🌍 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹-𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗹
Someone may appear to be “ahead” of you in:
💍 Marriage.

💵 Finances.

🧑🏽‍💼 Career.

But what if they are silently battling:
😔 Depression.

👶🏽 Infertility.

📉 A failing business?

🤔 Would you still want their position?

On the flip side:
🟡 Your 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴
🛡 May be protecting you from burdens you’re not yet equipped to bear.

🛤 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗲
Your load may be heavy, but:
🎯 It’s yours for a reason.

🏋🏽 It’s tailored to build your character, strength and purpose.

✅ Rather than competing, be compassionate:
👏🏽 Cheer others on.

🚫 But don’t envy them.

🏁 The 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 —
It’s in front of you.

🧠 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁:
Life is not a competition.
It is 𝘢 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦.

🛣 Don’t run with your eyes on someone else’s race.
🏃🏽‍♂ Run yours.
🎒 Carry your load with 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙚.
😌 And never be ashamed of where you are —
It’s exactly where you’re meant to be.

📚 For more inspirational lecture series by the author, kindly visit:
👉🏼 www.spdsfoundation.org

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✍🏽 Written by:
© James Ola Emiola-Dakobiri FIIM
🌍 Founder & President,
Suicide Prevention and Depression Support Foundation
🇳🇬 Nigeria & 🇺🇸 United States of America

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