Theodore Roosevelt said, “comparison is the thief of joy.” With countless images and messages via social media plastered across our eyeballs daily, this is more true now than ever. You could be killing a workout and then jump on social media and see someone doing more or what you perceive as “better” than you, and there goes the joy you jumped off the mat or walked out of the gym with. Instead of comparing yourself to your neighbor on the mat, or a stranger on an app, try comparing yourself to your past self.
How did that exercise feel the first time you did it compared to today? Remember when you couldn’t do the abdominal series without feeling your neck or planks without pain in your wrists?
Remember how much weight you lifted the first time you stepped into the gym? How about now?
Remember when you could barely make it to the end of your street on the run without getting a stitch and being totally winded, and now you can kill a 5K, no problem?
Don’t get me wrong; I love competition. I was a competitive athlete for years. Competition can be fun and can also be a powerful motivational tool. However, if comparing yourself to others consistently makes you feel like you are less, is it motivating you, or is it causing you to shrink your extraordinary accomplishments?
If this is something you are struggling with, you are not alone. For years I would watch other instructors teach and think, I will never know as much as her, or I will never be able to demonstrate that exercise as well as he can. There will always be someone more intelligent than you, faster than you, and stronger than you. And that is OK. It took me a while to come to terms with that, but in the end, I know I am a damn good instructor, and with each class I teach, I continue to learn and become a better instructor. All we can do is be the absolute best version of ourselves and keep pushing ourselves to be better than we were yesterday.
If this resonates with you, drop me a note below and let me know what you are rocking better today than yesterday!
