Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but there are other people out there who are better than you are.

Hey, I’m just the messenger, if you wanna shoot anything why not shoot that belief that this simple fact is a bad thing?

See, the brutal truth is that there will always be someone who’s bigger, faster, wiser, cleverer, more successful, more entertaining, more insightful and more able than you in something you do.  There are exceptions of course – some folks are in the elite where they’re simply the best in their field at what they do.  If you’re in that group then that’s bloody brilliant, really it is.

But even if you’re the best damn entrepreneur, Mum, CEO, designer or chef in the world, there’s someone else who’s going to be a better singer than you.  Or better at building rapport.  Or better at golf.

Does that take away from your ability?

Among other things I pride myself on my sense of humour, and I have a bit of a reputation as a funny bloke (funny ha-ha, not funny weird).  But when there’s another funny guy at the table it suddenly turns into a competition, and I find myself determined to prove just how damn funny I am.  Laugh, damn you, laugh.

I’ve learned from this situation and from others (and continue to learn) that I need to stop comparing and contrasting.

Nobody can be the best at everything, but that doesn’t stop some people seeing others who are better at something than they are and saying, “Why aren’t I as good as them?”, “Geez, I must really suck.”, etc, etc.

Here’s the important part.  The fact that other people will always be better than you does not take away from what you’re top-of-the-tree-a-number-one brilliant at.  In fact, it’s often a great idea to surround yourself by people who are smarter, faster, more experienced and better at something than you – that’s a great way to learn and it’s a great model for achieving success.

For that to to happen you need to stop judging yourself as “better” or “worse” than other people, which means you start thinking of yourself less, rather than thinking less of yourself.

And that my friend, is a sure-fire way to unbreakable confidence.