Observing other people can be enlightening.
It can help you see what’s working for them and what isn’t, and it gives you some ideas about how to improve your health or habits.
It can be great to learn from the people around us, but comparing yourself to them and feeling jealous of their successes will only hold you back and keep you from achieving your full potential.
You’ll never be able to live up to someone else’s standards, and by doing so, you’ll lose sight of your unique strengths and qualities.
Other people’s successes should never diminish your accomplishments. Celebrate your heroic achievements, no matter how small or large they are, and continue to work towards your aims.
Comparison Traps
One of the most common traps we fall into in our fitness journey is comparing ourselves to others. We measure our bodies to other people’s bodies, our careers to other people’s careers, our homes to other people’s homes. We can even compare our mental and emotional states to those of others.
These types of comparisons are never productive. It can make us feel unhappy with where we are in life and cause us to doubt our abilities, and make us feel like we’re not good enough.
We all have different strengths and weaknesses, so it’s impossible to compare ourselves to others accurately. What may seem like a flaw to them might be a strength for us and vice versa.
We might be misunderstanding who that other person is. Maybe they’re just at a different stage in life or have different priorities. Perhaps you are only seeing the side of them that they want you to see.
Instead of focusing on your shortcomings or what you don’t have the chance to do compared to the people you see around you, concentrate on how far you’ve come and how your unique strengths will help you move forward.
Competing With Yourself
Embrace your journey and the unique path that you are on.
Your vision for your life should be one of constant improvement, both physically and mentally. Your fitness journey is a way to better yourself every day by building up your physical strength, increasing your endurance, and improving the mind-body connection.
Instead of trying to match other people’s measurements and records, challenge yourself every day to be better than you were yesterday. You can’t accurately measure your progress unless you compare yourself to your previous self.
Set ambitious goals for yourself and strive to reach them, but remember to enjoy the process as you go.
Fitness is not a competition; it’s an adventure that must be taken one step at a time. Embrace your individuality, and don’t compare yourself to others.
You are your own best competition.
