How do you keep the main thing the main thing? Steven Covey asked this question decades ago as part of his 7 Habits curriculum. People still ask it today although they may not be aware of it.

When a mom is stressed and feels pulled in a million directions, she's asking it.

When a CEO senses the organization is being distracted away from its core mission, he's asking it.

When an artist concretely knows that she's losing the passion, she's asking it.

I can definitely relate to this and recently talked it over with my wife. I've actually felt very focused in the past few weeks. What had changed to enable me to zero in on my more important projects?

The secret was right there in front of me: I had stopped comparing myself to others.

I've made it a conscious point to avoid looking at other schools' websites. When I hear of someone that I might ordinarily compare myself with, I adjust the conversation. When there might be a temptation to gossip, I shift gears.

The result has been tangible: two weeks of intense work and solid self motivation. My outputs have been more crisp and in general, I feel better about who I am and what I'm doing. When I have my devotional time in the morning, it's actually, you know- devotional time. Imagine that!

The Scriptures are really clear on this as well, nudging us to focus on the present moment and not on some outside source of competition.

Psalm 118 says, "This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."

How can you avoid comparing yourself to others this week?