I watched my daughter's swimming lessons, and was pleased at how much she has improved. We have a friend the same age who is on a swim team, and she is a much better swimmer. Her mother is pleased with her progress, too.
Which is how it should be. Our goal should 
always be to improve ourselves, to improve over where we were yesterday. Someone will always be better, faster, bigger, stronger, richer, thinner, prettier, smarter. If we make beating that person our goal, we will always be disappointed and forever dissatisfied.
While my daughter swam, I noticed a guy doing laps. He was good, gliding through the water with seemingly little effort, strokes timed perfectly with his breathing, minimal movement, lap after lap. He was in shape, too, as you could see the muscles in his back and arms. He finally stopped and stood. I was surprised to see he was old, close to 70 I'm guessing. I suppose his mother must be pleased with his progress, too.
