Marcus warned against the endless drain of minding other people's business, wondering what they're doing, saying, thinking. Every minute spent measuring yourself against someone else is a minute stolen from your own work. He asked instead: what is the state of my own mind, my own conduct, right now? Comparison is a trap with no bottom, there's always someone ahead, and chasing their path pulls you off yours. This isn't about not caring for others or never learning from them. It's about where you fix your attention. Your life has its own shape, its own timing. Tend that. The energy you free up by stopping the comparison is exactly the energy you need for your own road.

Inspired by the old idea of mind your own conduct. Written by Ugo Charles.