Competition

So much in life encourages competition. I think it's human nature to compare ourselves to others and to strive to be better - but, this is usually means being better than someone else and that is not always a good thing. Sure, healthy competition is necessary for us to grow and develop as humans and it keeps us working hard but, sometimes, competition can be bad.

Working out with a team of amazing women has been such a blessing. Seriously, this has been a game-changer for me. Their support and constant encouragement has kept me going the many times I have wanted to give up and eat myself into a stupor. Also, we have found the greatest support and love from the other trainers and their clients at our gym. We really feel a part of a family and that is so awesome.

However, with teamwork, comes the tendency to compare myself to others - to compare my weaknesses with their strengths and vice versa. It's so easy to get discouraged when I see others progressing faster than I am. Don't get me wrong, I am absolutely ecstatic about my team's accomplishments, which are many. But, it's harder to see the progress in myself and, let's be honest, we are all our biggest critics.

Tonight, we had our first weigh-in in about 5 weeks. And Mike - the angel - thought it would be a good idea to weigh and measure us at the beginning of the workout instead of the end. So, needless to say, we were all kinda crabby throughout the workout because we wanted to see bigger (actually smaller) numbers.

Anyhoo, at the end of our workout, we met together to discuss nutrition and what we can do better. Mike gave us a pep talk and we all made comments. Erica was saying something about being discouraged that everyone else is doing so well but she hasn't seen much difference in herself in the past few weeks. I immediately said, "Erica, this isn't a competition with each other. We are in this together and your only competition is yourself."

And, do you think I could just stop there?!

No way, I just had to keep going...

In the exact same breath I said, "So, who lost the most anyway?"

Seriously? Is there any way you can think before you just blurt stuff out you stupid girl?

Yeah, I'm pretty embarrassed, if you can't tell. Good thing my girls (and Mike) are super cool and know that I am a complete spaz who often says the exact wrong thing at the exact wrong time...so they don't hate me.

At least I hope they don't.

So, the moral of this (long and boring) tale is just do the best you can do and stop comparing yourself to others. Because, about 1,000% of the time, you are comparing your weaknesses with their strengths and that is not fair. You will fall short every time and that is so very discouraging and stops progress. God made us all different for a reason and that is to be celebrated, not used for competition. I love the above quote. The only competition in our journey to health and fitness should be with our old (Mtn Dew drinking, potato chip loving, stretchy pants wearing) selves.

So, instead of thinking, "Oh my gosh, Brianne lost 10 more lbs and looks smoking hot in those teeny tiny running shorts - oh, and by the way, she's had 4 kids. Here I am, looking like a beached whale as I struggle through this weird plank thing Mike is making me do 1,000 times," we should be celebrating the success of our friends and reminding ourselves how far we've come.

How about: "I wore knee-length skirts twice to work this week and got quite a few compliments on how good I looked."

(Before a couple of weeks ago, I hadn't worn knee-length anything for about 5 years).

Let's focus on what's really important and that is the progress that we - as individuals - have made and will continue to make as long as we stay positive and keep working hard.