By Karuna Kochar
Good. Better. Best.
We have lived our entire lives categorizing things in 3 degrees of performance – including ourselves. Way back in school we were pushed to bring home the first prize and our entire life at work is focused on being the best performer.
I discovered true happiness when I removed the superlative degree of comparison from my mind. I have nothing against competition, but it is truly impossible to know you’re the best in a world with 7 billion people across 7 massive continents. Just because someone, somewhere was not discovered it does not mean they don’t exist. So, all award ceremonies who take the liberty of calling someone the “Best” in the field, mean the person is the best among those who participated.
I like the word “Better” for many reasons:
It is a word with infinite possibilities – no matter how you are today, you can always be better
It does not instill the feeling of false pride, for no one can really claim to be the best unless they have entered a competition with all the people of this world
It promotes healthy competition and instills a sense of growth rather than loss
So now in my head, I do not do anything aiming to be the best! I don’t even part take in competitions to be the best, all I want to be is better than the last version of me. If I am able to understand and deliver more than yesterday, I know I am growing and that’s a place for true joy!
By Karuna Kochar
Comments