Comparison is a thief to joy.
There are so many ways to compare ourselves. We compare our lives to the lives we believe others are leading on social media. Essentially, comparing our low lights to the high lights in the lives of our friends or celebrities.
We somehow always find ourselves lacking.
We may feel we lack opportunities, wealth, family, and fun. And then wonder why we are not living a bigger life. Not noticing before the comparison, we were pretty happy with our lives.
But maybe worse than comparing ourselves to someone else’s highlights, we also compare ourselves to ourselves.
The selves we used to be:
Where did our energy go?
Where did my abs go?
Why can’t I lift the weights I did 5 years ago?
Why can’t I run an 8-minute mile anymore?
Or maybe you are comparing who you thought you would be with who you are? I thought I would be married. Have kids. Be retired. Be further in my career.
All of this comparison steals the joy of being who you are today. And today, you are uniquely you. There is no one quite like you. Even you are a little different than you were yesterday.
So, today, enjoy being you. Lift the weight you can and be grateful for the strength you have. Run the pace you are capable of today and know you are a better run just for running.
Be you.
PS – This may have just been a reminder to myself. You know, to just be me. If you resonate with this as well, remember to be you. No one else can be you but you.