There’s absolute validity in knowing what your competition is doing. And there are very good reasons to study those in your field, particularly if they are ahead of you in skill or experience.  HOWEVER, there is also real danger in obsessing about who’s doing what, when and why, and how much more they’re earning/doing than you are.

Think for a minute about how many days and how many brain cells you’ve wasted this year worrying about her over there….or him down the road.  Think about how many grey hairs you could have saved yourself by not stressing about the fact that so-and-so seems to be everywhere doing everything, whilst you’re stuck behind a computer trying to make ends meet.

Has there ever been a moment where those sleepless nights amounted to anything more than puffy eyes the next day? Did you really come up with the answer to how to beat that chick on Facebook whose face ie everywhere? Did your business gain any advantage whatsoever by obsessing over your competitors’ performance?

Here’s why I reckon the ostrich has a good thing going on.

She buries her head in the sand when threatened, running with the theory that if she can’t see them, they can’t see her! (A bit like toddlers really!). But that reaction is only part of the story.  The reality is that she’s tending to her eggs – turning them over with her beak – which have been lovingly laid in a hole in the ground.

So, whilst some may criticise the ostrich for sticking her head in the sand and not confronting her problems head on, the truth is that she’s directing her energy towards something she CAN influence and change and positively affect.

Maybe the ostrich mindset aint all bad….

Tend your own garden and reap the rewards of the produce.