50kg

(I'm posting this today, because I doubt I'll get time tomorrow - but then the post is about today anyway, so...)

At the gym this morning, I was just going round doing all my normal stuff - going from machine to machine. At one point, a lady was standing next to the machine I was on, waiting to use it. She noticed that I was lifting 50kg, she said, "I can only lift half that - you're doing very well!"

I thought about this for a moment - I am quite pleased with myself on that particular machine. This time last year, I was on 35kg, and I've gradually been working up. The machine goes up to 100kg, so there's still plenty of scope to pile on more weight. Even though she was being nice to me, what she'd said was quite flawed. If you compare yourself with someone else - anyone else - you are setting yourself up for trouble. You can't compare yourself with anyone else in a lot of things in life. This lady was a lot older than me, different build, different gender, different weight - I can't think of anything about us that gave grounds for a fair comparison on what we might do at the gym.

If you compare yourself with someone else at the gym, you'll either end up feeling inferior and useless, or you'll be vain and conceited. The only valid comparison is with yourself over time. I told this lady that I'd been gradually increasing my weight over time, but you've got to go at your own pace.

Don't make the mistake of comparing yourself with others - one way or another, you'll always loose!