Stop the Comparisons!
Hi Friend! It doesn't do you or me or anybody any good to compare oneself to what one used to be able to do!
I know it's easy to compare yourself to what you could do in high school, college, your 20's, 30's, 40's, 50's, 60's, ... , pre-indepence, pre-full time work, pre-marriage, pre-kids, etc... but you're different now. It's not apples to apples anymore. You are where you are. I do it too. I have such fond memories of kicking butt during my XX years or during that specific time in my life, and I use that as the measuring stick, but for the most part it's unhelpful.
What is helpful? Knowing where you are today and knowing it concretely. That's what's helpful. - How often do you exercise?
- How long do you exercise?
- How many minutes of exercise per week?
- How many minutes of cardio per week?
- How many strength workouts per week?
- How many hours of sleep do you average / night? per week?
- What are your measurements (weight, body fat %, BMI, fat mass, lean mass, circumferences, blood pressure, pulse, pant/dress size, ...)
- Take 4 photos (front, right side, backside and left side)
- How many push ups, squats, rows, pull ups can you do?
- How long can you plank?
- How long can you side plank?
- How fast can you run?
- How far can you run?
- How high can you jump?
- How far can you jump?
- How soft can you land?
- How much weight can you lift?
- How many meals per day do you eat? How about per week?
- How many ounces of non-caloric beverages do you drink / day?
- How many fists of greens do you have per meal?
- How many palms of protein do you have per meal?
- How many thumbs of healthy fat do you have / meal?
- How many cupped hands of carbohydrate dense food do you have / meal?
It is what it is! My Tio Dennis says that a lot. So does my cousin Lav. It's a good catch phrase. You can't do anything about the past, you can only do something about today and tomorrow. Don't throw out your memories of what once was, but don't dwell on them either.
Solution! Instead, figure out where you are today, where you want to go tomorrow (be concrete) and work backwards to figure out how to best get there the fastest and best case, stay there the longest or forever.
- Get a coach
- Get an accountability partner
- Get a plan
- Get a team
- Get a mentor, role model, someone who's done before, what you want to do now
- Get going
- Track your results
- Course correct as needed
- Set a date, deadline or commit to an event
- Burn the bridge and the boats, but don't burn bridges
- Don't be perfect
- Don't miss workouts, appointments and/or commitments
- Say "I don't do [insert blank]" vs "I can't do [insert blank]"
- Focus on today, this moment, the things you can control
- Don't worry about tomorrow, next week and the things you can't
- Do plan for tomorrow, but focus on and live for today
- Don't give up your power to someone else
- People, places & things will compete for your emotions, time, energy & resources, but you're the boss of you and you control whether external distractions effect you or not
- Be the gatekeeper looking out for your own best interests
- Remember gratefulness is the antidote for fear and anger
You get the idea.
Stop the comparisons. Start where you are now. Set a target for where you want to go. Work backwards to create a plan and get going. You can track your progress, course correct, build your team and make a best case situation for yourself as you go.
And remember...
Some of my clients got into the BEST SHAPE of THEIR LIVES when they turned 50 and 60, so there's still more to look forward too.
Using my own advice,
Coach Mike
|
