Comparison Steals Joy

I had an interesting conversation with a woman today before our class started. She said she wished that she could go to a class where everyone started at the same level as beginners. She felt self-conscious about others being more advanced than she felt she was.
Her comment made me think about how, especially as women, we often compete with each other. I have heard women often say self-deprecating comments about: their bodies, what they eat, their intelligence, etc. Society tells us there is an ideal we must all strive for in every area of our lives. However, this ideal is never met and it leads to jealousy and comparison to those we think are meeting this so-called ideal.
But, what if we were to change our thinking? What if we were to go against what the world says? What if we chose not to compare ourselves to others? If notice you are starting to compare yourself to another person, could you hold the thought captive and throw it away as brain trash? Then replace it with a positive comment about yourself.
I get that in fitness, it can be motivating to compete with others. I just encourage you to listen to your thoughts if this is the way you get motivated. Are you thinking thoughts that are positive about yourself when you compete with another person? Or do your thoughts focus on all the things you are doing wrong and what the other person does well?
I think it is time we become our own fans! I have found it helpful to compete with myself. I like to see what I could not do a month ago, but can do today. To me this shows real progress!
What will you choose to think about? ‪#‎comparisonstealsjoy‬‪#‎competeagainstyourself‬
‪#‎beyourownfan‬ ‪#‎throwawaybraintrash‬ ‪#‎changeyourthinking‬‪#‎changeyourreality‬