The Comparison Trap
“The other gyms in the area charge X so I placed myself just under them to be more appealing.”
“The program down the street does Jiu-Jitsu and it does well. If I add that, it’ll be great for us.”
“I can’t figure out why that gym is doing better than us. Their program is garbage.”
As humans, we often look to others and compare our success, happiness, status, etc… With theirs to see how we’re doing.
Inevitably, we lose when we do this. Everyone’s circumstances are different. Metrics are different. And we have almost no idea what their day to day looks like and feels like.
We use our imagination, add our own judgement, and often feel like shit about ourselves, cast unwarranted judgement on them to make ourselves feel better, or both.
Learning from others is good. Casting judgement on ourselves or them, brings zero benefit.
Determining our success, our happiness, and our future based on the actions of others leaves us leading a life that is out of alignment with our needs and desires. Leading our gyms this way is often a road to resentment, burn out, financial difficulty, and dissension in the community.
Each and every program is different.
Identify what YOU want for YOUR community and what YOU want for YOUR life.
Use that as your True North for making decisions for your community, your program, and your business.
Teach Krav Maga or BJJ because it’s what your passionate about and want to share that with your community.
Decide your rates because it’s what you need to truly show up for your community and live a happy life. Focus on what is appropriate to care for your community and let other communities focus on what is good for them.
When you’re genuine, people can sense that. They are drawn to that.
Where have you been comparing yourself and your business?
What can you do to bring that focus back to yourself and accept control of your future?
Aaron Jannetti 