Today, I’m going to talk about the absolute BEST way to guarantee failure in your health and fitness goals. You’ll probably find that you’ve been guilty of this in the past. I was. You may even be doing this currently. If so, I’m going to tell you why it’s sabotaging your fitness goals and why it’s important to stop doing this right away and what you can do instead.
I’m talking about comparing yourself to other people like celebrities or bodybuilders/fitness personalities, anyone else for that matter. Comparing yourself with their physiques, their looks, their results. If you’re doing this, stop it immediately. No good can come of it. Here are a few reasons why:
- You don’t have their genetics.
- You don’t train like them.
- You don’t have access to the same equipment.
- You don’t eat the same food.
- You don’t use the same supplements.
- You don’t have the same work ethic.
- You don’t have the same schedule.
- You don’t sleep as they do.
- You don’t sleep as well as they do.
- You don’t have the same nutritional requirements they do.
- You don’t have the same coaches, trainers, doctors, pharmacists, etc.
- You’re not them. Period.
I used to compare myself with others when I was younger. I remember growing up and reading in all the different bodybuilding magazines how the different big names would prep their food and have to eat six sometimes up to eight meals a day. I remember thinking this was what I needed to do. I tried it… as a youngster, single, with no real responsibilities. Know how long I lasted doing this? Less than a week.
Kudos to anyone that can eat like this and be disciplined long enough to do this for an extended period of time. A few things I needed to keep in mind, though, but didn’t:
Pro bodybuilders get paid to do it… they earn prize money, get sponsorships, etc. It’s their job. I’m not saying they get rich, far from it, but they do this full-time and are extremely committed. Most pro bodybuilders also use steroids and other chemical enhancement to look the way they do. That’s a fact. That changes everything.
So doing what the “pros” did in terms of diet and exercise wasn’t going to work for me unless I was doing everything else that the pros did, too. Even then, I wouldn’t achieve the same results. In my younger years, I didn’t realize this. I thought I had to do these things to be like the people I was admiring and idolizing. I was comparing myself to them, their physiques, their results.
What I should have been doing instead, was drawing inspiration from them, from the hard work and dedication they showed to achieve the level of physical condition that they had and figuring out how to do what would work best for me and my goals.
I eventually realized this with the help of a few mentors and coaches. I started on the road to becoming the best version of myself that I could become. I’m still on that road. The journey doesn’t end until you’re no longer here.
The same can be said for you if you find that you’re comparing yourself to others. I recently saw Kumail Nanjiani post a before and after shot of himself on social media shirtless and looking in terrific shape. I perused some of the comments he was getting from followers and it struck me how many people were so negative.
Love him or not, the dude busted his butt to get that way. Doesn’t matter how he did it, he did it. He worked hard. He achieved. He posted the results of his transformation to show the fruits of his labor and people were busting all over him, making allegations about drug use, etc. I don’t know if that was the case or not, but regardless, you don’t look like that without putting in the work.
Instead of drawing inspiration from things like this, people become insecure and start throwing negativity, attacking the person that is proud of (rightfully so) and displaying their achievements.
Instead of being jealous and comparing yourself with others, understand that you can never be them. Just like they can never be you. We are all different in every way. There are no two of us alike. Celebrate your individuality and uniqueness and concentrate on being your best self, whether or not that means bulging biceps and 6-pack abs is up to you to decide.
Look at pictures, videos of people that you admire. Try not to envy, but admire. Understand you won’t ever look like them. But you can draw inspiration from them and the dedication they showed to become what they are, to look the way they look, to do the things they do. They became the best versions of what they perceived themselves to be, and they’re most likely still working to get even better every day. You can do the same.
Do it for you, not for anyone else. Become your best self, the best version of you that you imagine yourself to be. Put in the time, put in the work.
Always Activate. Get Going.
