A wise man once said...

Chatting with a friend this morning in between swim practices for our kids and she shared with a me an amazing quote.

"Comparison is the Thief of Joy" - Teddy Roosevelt

In all that we have to do in a given day at home or work we have spouse support, child navigating, chores, errands, health and fitness...we like to tack one more thing on to this every growing list...JEALOUSY!  It is such a miserable thing and everyone does it!  I know that there are days that I am on my "A" game and other days where I just want to phone it in.  Generally on those other days is when that nasty ugly emotion comes creeping in.  

The thing I tend to be jealous over is other people's amazing skill of organization.  That is where I fall VERY short in my life.  That is the area that I give the least attention to and there are many days where we all suffer because of it.  Case it point, missed G3's first day of swim lessons in December, G1 and G2 missed church musical practice this past Saturday...too many balls in the air.  Too many baskets of clean laundry in the hall and clothes to be sorted and stored away for the next growth spurt.  Having organization in my life I feel would make me more whole.

Back to the wise man and how he relates to fitness and health.  Stop looking at magazines, pictures on pinterest and ridiculous bodies on television.  Many of these people are purely images that probably still compare themselves on any given day to someone or something else. Stop saying that you "just" ran 3 miles today or "I run slow" so you probably don't want to run with me.  Stop beating yourself up and telling yourself you are not good enough because you didn't do what someone else did.  

Every step you take whether it is 6 inches or 12...is closer to your goal.  Every time you let that twinge of jealousy creep in...it brings you back and you will feel even lower than before.  That is when it is the hardest to pick yourself up!  Be proud of yourself for taking a chance on you.  Encourage that friend to reach their goal and use them to help you reach yours as well.  Enough with the constant comparisons and more with the constant encouragements for both yourself and others.  Find YOUR joy!

Embrace the suck and choose you!!

March 2014...Orange visor with me in month two of my quest!