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Transcript

Run Your Own Race · The Daily Writer

• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Daily Rider Podcast, where we bring you tips and inspiration each day to help you build habits for writing success.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: For more resources, including your free Daily Rider Starter Kit, visit DailyWriterLife.com.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: We're doing a short series here on the podcast on perspectives that go against conventional wisdom.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're just not joining us, I encourage you to go back and catch the previous entries in this series.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: Social media has made things both harder and easier for us as writers.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: On the one hand, it's much easier than it was years ago because we can connect with almost anybody in the world who has an internet connection.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: We can share content and be inspired by what other people are posting.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: On the other hand, social media has made it much harder.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: Why?
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: Because social media by definition only showcases people's successes.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: We end up comparing our whole lives, including our failures and frustrations, to just a partial view of other people's lives because they only post their wins.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: And it's not just them, we do the same thing, by the way.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, when's the last time you posted a gigantic failure of yours on social media?
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: Probably never.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: When you see all the wins that people are posting, though, don't you compare yourself?
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I'm tempted to do that, and you probably are as well.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: Now, sure, we can learn from other people, but keep in mind that your race is not their race.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: You have your own pace, your own goals, your own priorities and commitments in life.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: For example, if you're a young mother with three kids at home and you only have 15 minutes of silence a day before collapsing into bed at night, don't feel guilty about not getting as much work done as the single guy who probably has far fewer commitments, much more free time, and seems to be accomplishing a lot more.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: Now, here's a different example, though.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you're that single person who is just getting started and you feel guilty because you're not accomplishing as much as that business writer with several kids who seems to travel all over the world and they seem to have it all.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: They have a New York Times bestseller, they have an email list of 300,000 people, and they have what looks to you like a perfect life.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: But what you may not know is that that person's marriage is crumbling, and that they're secretly miserable because they have to run themselves ragged to keep up with all the demands of their freshly grown business.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: In other words, here's the point: you never know what people's real situation is and what their lives are like on the inside.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: So don't assume that what you're seeing on social media is actually the whole picture.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: And this is certainly no judgment on anybody's personal situation because we all have different lives.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: Our lives are constantly in flux according to our stage of life and where we are in building a business or reaching our personal goals or dreams.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: So don't worry about everybody else.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: Just focus on running your own race and learn what you can from other successful people, and then you can apply those lessons to your own situation.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: And the cool thing is that if you keep at it, pretty soon people will be comparing themselves to you, and then you can help become a mentor and teach those people just like other people have done for you.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: Here's today's question Do you have a hard time avoiding the comparison game?
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: Why or why not?
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for listening, and I'll see you tomorrow.