“Comparison is the thief of joy.”
Theodore Roosevelt
There’s a difference.
“Why are they stronger than me?”
“Why can they do that, and I can’t?”
Vs.
“She’s so strong, I’m going to be a little more dedicated, work a little harder, and be stronger like that one day too. She really inspires me.”
The Comparison Game
In the fitness world it’s so easy to compare ourselves to those around us. It’s not a great motivator if we use it against ourselves. Too often it leaves us feeling like we’re not good enough and shouldn’t be doing the same things as other people, just because they’re better than we are at it.
Here’s the thing. You don’t have to be the best to be great. Any measurable effort, and progress will tell you you’re doing great.
Just because you’re not as fast as the top marathon runners doesn’t mean you shouldn’t race.
After all, the elite spend most of their time training for this particular thing.
It is literally what they eat, breathe, sleep, do with most of their time…a job or second job.
If you enjoy running and a race is your goal, know that you have a life, you have a job, you have family and other responsibilities.
Be a Realist.
So, no.
You may not reach their status because you both have different lifestyles and responsibilities.
Telling yourself you’re not good enough because you’re not as good as them is simply irrational.
In the CrossFit space we see it a lot. People want to be as great as some of the top performers on socials and in the gym.
What they don’t realize, is that comparing yourself to the 20 something who spends 6 hours a day in the gym, has someone prepping meals for them, has their nutrition completely dialed in, doesn’t go to parties or do anything extracurricular, is living a completely different lifestyle with the goal of only competing in sight.
The person at the gym that can knock out tons of muscle ups may have had a gymnastics background that gave them prior skills to do that, while maybe you’ve never even done a cartwheel.
The person that can clean twice your bodyweight may have spent some time lifting for high school sports while you just started lifting a barbell a few months ago.
Setting Expectations
Expectations for ourselves are healthy, but only if set realistically. Maybe these folks have just put in more time that you have, it’s not too late for you to start working towards it.
It IS okay to have a person we admire; someone we look at and strive to be more like. Look at their routine, their recovery and implement some of what they’re doing to improve what we’re doing.
In the end, setting realistic goals are important. The important thing is having fun, being 1% better each time, and feeling good about it when you’re done!
Run your own race. Celebrate small victories often. Compete against yourself.