Be Careful Of Comparing Yourself To Others

You are the only person worth comparing yourself to
One of the most important things to remember when you are training is that your journey is going to be different than anyone else’s. Your goals are unique. Your history is unique. Your body is unique.
Frequently, I work with someone trying to reach a goal like improving their 5k running time. There are lots of training areas that need to be considered: strength, speed, endurance, injury prevention, weight, et cetera. As a coach, my job is to look at the specific person and come up with a plan that will help them improve all of the areas they need to in order to reach their goal.
Once in a while, a person will get stuck on one specific facet of training like speed, for example. They seem to forget about everything else and start comparing themselves to other people that are really fast. This isn’t much of a problem if they are looking at other really fast 5k runners. It becomes more of an issue if they are looking at Usain Bolt.
As an age group 5k runner competing in local races, this person has absolutely nothing to gain by looking at the training methods of Usain Bolt and it is frequently detrimental to real progress because it is insanely distracting.
There are tons of reasons why you shouldn’t compare yourself to anyone else. First, like in the case above, their goal might have absolutely nothing to do with your own. It’s as similar as comparing your rapid weight loss goal to an amputee that just lost 15lbs in a major, life changing surgery.
Secondly, you have no idea what their lifestyle is like. Most of us have regular jobs, families, bills to pay, groceries to shop for, and a thousand other tasks we have to complete each week. The person you are comparing yourself to might not have any of those stresses or obligations.
Of course our bodies play a major role as well. We all have old injuries that still affect us. Your body type might be completely different from the person you are comparing yourself to. Your dimensions, recovery potential, work capacity, and physiology are all different.
This isn’t to say we have to reinvent the wheel with every person. There are certainly strategies that work with a wide range of individuals, but it is vital that you look at your own situation and goals when you start refining your training.
As Dan John always says, “The goal is to keep the goal, the goal.” Keep your eye on your prize. Not on anyone else’s.

