We've all been there...

That familiar sensation of feeling behind.

And it's no wonder it's so familiar. From the time you wake up in the morning until the time you go to sleep at night, you're being hit by a constant drip highlight reel from everyone around you.

Their promotions. Their bonuses. Their new homes. Their fancy cars. Their beautiful lives.

Every single piece of information a snapshot of their position that you can't help but compare yourself to.

Teddy Roosevelt once called comparison "the thief of joy."

But in my view, it's not the act of comparison itself that's the problem—it's the focal point of that comparison that's the real enemy.

It's the obsessive focus on where you are right now. The snapshot. The point in time.

That focus blinds you to something much more important than your current position:

Your trend.

Consider this simple visual:

If you focus on the present position, you'd say that Person B is worse off. But zoom out and focus on the trend and you'd realize that you'd much rather be Person B than Person A.

Position-thinking is anti-agentic. It creates negative feelings because there's nothing you can do to change where you are today.

Trend-thinking is pro-agentic. It creates positive feelings because it serves as a reminder that you are in control. That you are capable of taking daily actions today that help shape the trend of tomorrow.

Your trend is forged in the mundane: The controllable habits, routines, and mindsets that create momentum in your life.

Ask yourself the following to reset your focus to the trend:

• If I repeated my current day for 100 straight days, would my trend be better or worse than it currently is?
• What one habit, done consistently for a month, would bend my curve the most?
• What are some subtle, hidden signs of my growth in the last month?

Stop self-inflicting misery with position-thinking. Return to your craft. Stack tiny wins until the graph can’t hide them.

Trust in the trend.