Hi OwnPace Family! I hope everyone is well and has had a productive start to their week!
Today I want to speak about comparing yourself to others and trying to become someone you are not. Everyone has to start somewhere, whether it is with home workouts or by signing up at their local gym. The problem begins when you lose focus of your personal goals and start trying to compare yourself to other people. Look, we all do it, we see someone at our gym that we wish we looked like or even wish we lifted as much weight as them. We might even take it a step further and ask them for their routine, tips or tricks in order to try and obtain their body, but what works for one person may not work for you. Don’t get me wrong, I think we should definitely keep someone we admire in mind as motivation, but at the same rate comparing ourselves to other people could actually slow or bring our momentum to a stop because we start to lose confidence on what we can individually accomplish. The major purpose of this post is to remind you that…
YOUR ONLY COMPETITION IS YOURSELF!!!
Every time you go to the gym and complete a workout you are getting more fit, stronger, and you are one step closer to accomplishing your goals. We seem to forget that we each create our own individual journey and we can only expect results based on the amount of work WE put in. No one can run for you or lift the weights for you.
Why do we compare our bodies or workouts to other peoples?
I personally believe this is simply because of human nature and we always want what others have. EVERYONE is different and will progress at their OWNPACE. Again, what works for me will no necessarily work for you and vice versa. I think that is the beauty of the human body, that no two individuals are exactly the same. Everyone’s fitness journey is an experiment and we need to test what works best for ourselves. In general there is no right or wrong fitness program; just make sure it is appropriate for your goals, keep doing what works and stop doing what isn’t working.
I think this social media world we live in today really makes comparing ourselves to others hard not to do. We constantly see post of peoples success stories and this may discourage us because we think, “I wish I looked like them or why don’t I look like them?” We see this and want instant gratification, and think it’s too “hard” to reach my goals. The problem is that most of the time we don’t see how hard this person we are comparing ourselves to is actually working on a daily basis and we need to be more conscious of that.
How can we stay focused on our own goals?
Focus on being a better version of yourself. Break your goals down into smaller goals so that they will be more realistic. Every day you choose to workout or eat nutritionally dense food, that is progress in the right direction. So keep your head up, stay positive and remember that with patience, hard work, and dedication you can achieve your goals at your OWNPACE.
Talk to you again soon,
Marcos