About 8 miles into the Pittsburgh half marathon a few weeks ago I noticed a poster someone taped to a light pole along the route. It read something like:
“It’s not the distance you’ve traveled, but how far you’ve come to get here”
Apologies if I butchered a well-known quote, but I was too occupied running to grab a pen and write it down. Regardless, the quote made me smile because it touched on something that I often forget; everybody’s personal journey is different and success can only be measured by your personal achievements.
These days it’s way too easy to get caught up comparing yourself to other people. Facebook, LinkedIn, and newer fitness apps like Runkeeper or Strava provide constant reminders of how you stack up against your peers. Whether it’s the new job, engagement, or 5K time, we spend hours engaged in online one-ups-manship. With the stream of constant comparisons on your newsfeed it’s easy to feel inadequate and lose sight of what matters most: how far you’ve come.
Only you can fully appreciate all of the mountains you've climbed or bumps in the road you’ve weathered to get where you are today. The best way to judge progress is to look in the mirror, not your smartphone.
Don’t get me wrong, a certain amount of competition can be fun and is arguably necessary but don’t get caught up in it. Set goals that are achievable and measure your success based on your ability to meet them. So what if the girl you hardly spoke to in high school posts a crazy fast marathon time on Facebook? (Aside: there was a reason you didn’t speak to her, she kinda sucked). What matters most is that you’re improving. Getting better, get it?
I am by no means immune to falling into the comparison trap. I spent an embarrassing amount of time and energy comparing myself to other people when it came to fitness goals. My interest in weight training led me to buy the typical muscle magazines and soon I wasn’t happy unless I looked like one of the genetic freaks on their covers. Fast forward a few years and I still looked like a pretty average sized, albeit fit, looking guy. I’d spent hundreds on bogus supplements and wasted hours on workouts designed for guys who eat steroids for breakfast. I was in a constant state of frustration and felt like a failure.
It’s sad because at the time I failed to give myself credit for how far I had come. When I first started working out seriously, I could barely do a set of pushups, but after a few years of training I could throw around a respectable amount of weight. Granted, I wasn’t going to grace the cover of any bodybuilding magazines any time soon, but are those guys really a picture of health? I would have been much better off setting some ambitious but biologically possible goals.
So don’t let others dictate your success and give yourself credit on how far you’ve come.
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