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人と比べるのではなく、過去の自分と比べる。
Do not compare yourself to other people, compare yourself to your past self.
Without any change in meaning, (though I guess it would be less formal in tone), could the writer have just used the -ない form of 比べる instead of nominalising it and then negating the nominalisation?
人と比べなく、過去の自分と比べる。
人と比べなく sounds a bit strange...
The negation is not the act of comparing, but the whole action of comparing to others.
In this sentence のではなく also gives an impression of strong advice or suggestion, as well as introducing an alternative. Perhaps 人と比べることをせず, 人と比べずに, or 人と比べないで might have been used instead.
