Who I Compare Myself To

There’s something about September that gets me refocused on my health and life goals. It feels like a new beginning in a sense. Maybe it’s because this is the time of year that I used to start basketball practice for the fall season when I was in college. It was the time we started getting back in shape after having the summer off. Generally around this time, my mind and body are ready for a jump-start and an extra push to finish the year strong. So, in addition to my regular workouts of strength training and yoga, I decided to get back into my kickboxing routine twice a week.

My kickboxing class is located in an all brick studio where master fighters come to train and coach. The beautiful space is surrounded by windows on the side and has large mirrors that cover the entire front wall that we all face during our class. The area that I work out in has about 25 heavy bags. Each punching bag has its own personality. Some are “heavier” than others; that is, some have more padding in them, which makes them harder to move. The “lighter” bags are more loose and light, which makes them easier to move.

I love the challenge of a kickboxing workout. The workout is really hard. Heck, the warm-up is even hard! I really give everything I have in the tank and I’m exhausted when the class is done. When the time is up, I just want to sprawl out on the cool wooden floor like a snow angel and close my eyes for several minutes to recover.

I didn’t always give everything I had to a workout. The times I would push myself the most were the times where some kind of competition was involved.

In fact, a number of years ago, I used to go to a big box gym and do some cardio on the treadmill. I remember times when someone in good shape would come run on the treadmill next to me. My competitive nature would come out and before I knew it, I found myself trying to match their speed or even go faster. If I couldn’t go faster than you, you better believe that I’m staying on there longer than you. My competitive nature at work! I found that whoever the person was, he or she would push me harder than I could push myself. The problem however, was that when there wasn’t someone beside me that I could compete against, I simply wouldn’t push myself as hard.

Earlier this week I was listening to an audio by Robin Sharma, my go-to person on leadership, mastery, and high performance. He talked about “The 8 Threats to World Class.” Number five on his list was “The Threat of Reaching Good Enough.” What that means is that some people stop improving when they’ve become “good enough” compared to those around them. The idea behind this is that if you wish to pursue a life of excellence, don’t settle for “good enough.” Instead, strive to make tomorrow better than today.

When I went back to kickboxing, I had some choices. I could choose a light or heavy bag. The light bags are easier to push around, but they don’t bring out the best in you. The heavy bags make you work harder, but they also make you better. As you can guess, I choose the heavy bag, even when I don’t feel like it. As much as I often look at the clock to see how much time is left in class (like my training clients used to do during a hard workout!), there’s nothing I would trade for that feeling of pride and satisfaction at the end when I know I gave my all.

The bag that I choose, the heaviest bag in the gym, is located at the very front, right next to the big mirror. Instead of waiting for someone in good shape to come workout at the bag next to me as I try to punch and kick harder than him or her, I now compete with the person in the mirror… Me.

What I took away from Robin Sharma’s “Threat of Reaching Good Enough” is that when it comes to our health and fitness, it’s not about being the fittest of your friends. It’s not about thinking you’re doing “pretty well” because all of your friends are on medications for their health conditions and you’re not. It’s not about feeling good about yourself because you’re not as overweight as your co-workers. What it is about is that you’re the healthiest YOU can be compared to who you were yesterday.

Today, think about your attitude when it comes to your health. Are you settling for “good enough” compared to the people around you? Or are you striving to be the healthiest you can be?

It is my hope that you always choose the heavy bag and that you strive to compete with the person in the mirror and not those around you. Choose to make tomorrow better than today.

Your health and wellness coach in your 50’s,
Kim