Why do I feel like I'm failing at change even when people around me seem to succeed?

This is where social learning theory gets tricky—and where Patanjali's wisdom becomes essential. We inherit not just strategies from those around us, but also their timelines, their nervous systems, their starting points. When you compare your internal experience to someone else's external appearance of success, you're comparing apples to the weather. What actually matters is whether you're practicing with consistency and attention to your own growth. Patanjali taught that mastery unfolds through practice over time, unique to each person's mind and capacity. Notice this: the people who seem to succeed fastest often fail in ways you don't see. And the people who seem stuck often make deeper shifts than flashy transformations suggest. Your job isn't to match their pace. It's to notice what principle they're embodying, then ask: How does this show up in my life? What small practice would build this capacity in me? Then do that practice, even if it looks nothing like theirs. The transformation is yours to discover.