I actually enjoy swimming, but the pool is a little far away and so it takes two hours at least to go swim and come back, so I can’t do it regularly. The good thing about running is I can go, come back and shower all under an hour. Easy to fit into a busy day.
I have kinda accepted that I probably won’t get to 5k any time soon. I have become so sick of the songs on the c25k podcast I listen to that I changed to “walk for a song, run for 5 or 6 songs, walk for a song”. That has been a nice change. And maybe slowly I can increase the number of songs. Or not, getting out and doing something is better than nothing, I tell myself. Thanks for your comment 
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I loved this book!! Recommend for runners and non-runners alike!
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I agree! I ran off and on throughout my life. Liked it well enough but was so dang slow. It discouraged me. In my mid 50s I really started enjoying it and even did a few 5ks. So… then starts the lower back pain. Disc issues from the pressure of slamming the pavement. So I found a new exercise plan and gym and love it even more! It has multiple sessions you can choose from …yoga, Pilates, cycling, barre, etc. in separate studios (actually saunas). I can see myself doing this until I’m 90! And I try not to compare… but I am still working on that!
So…there is a point here…keep looking until you find what works best for you! It’s worth it!
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Good S*** I agree Jen. It reminds me of sobriety in the sense of people camparing their bottoms to others. No one should ever do that. A person’s bottom is as far as they would like to dig. it doesn’t mean there road to recovery is any more or less powerful. It doesn’t matter if its a person who caught a strong buzz or the fall down Drunk, the street junkie, or the person with a prescription who just thought maybe they shouldn’t be taking as much as they have. The point is we are all on the same journey and everyones story serves a purpose to someone else out there. Stay blessed and congrats on you’re accomplishments.
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You’re killing it, just keep doing what you’re doing. 
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Funny story, Jen. I was on my way to a women’s AA meeting last night and stopped for coffee on the way. I see this woman that’s dressed perfect, with a cute designer purse, her nails all done nice, beautiful hair and I’m thinking…she has it all together, probably has the perfect home with the perfect husband and perfect career. There’s that f**king comparison raring it’s ugly head again. I get to my meeting and guess who walks in? Yep, that woman. Then her share was all about her divorce and how she has to find a job because he’s not going to give her alimony. I had a good chuckle to myself and thought about your topic. 
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Love this so much and it is so true. No one ever really knows the inner workings or depths of another’s pain or struggle or experience. Compassion and empathy for ourselves and others goes such a long way. 
Thanks for sharing.
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@Misokatsu I tend to like running over other things too because of the ease to fit it in the morning schedule. I tried the couch to 5k app but it wasn’t for me. The Nike app has good training runs and you can play Pandora or whatever you want behind it. I currently use the runkeeper app and it has training runs too but I haven’t checked them out.
@Mbwoman I ordered the book yesterday! I’m exited to get it.
@Jftself You are so right! I’ve seen people compare their bottoms but that’s not where we should focus. Thank you for your response.
@Lisa07 that is a funny story. I probably would have had the same train of thought but we never know someone’s home life.
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Thanks… sometimes I tell myself “Damn good for 62”. Sometimes I tell myself “Damn good for any age”!
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Great story!!! Proves the point exactly.
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That’s right! Get it!
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You’re right, we never know what someone’s home life is like. It’s this stupid fantasy I play in my head that everyone has it so much better than I do. There I was leaving the coffee shop, thinking I’m a loser spending my Saturday night at an AA meeting while this girl is probably going to spend a nice evening with her family enjoying a show or something. In the end, we spent the evening together at the meeting and she joined me for dinner afterwards. Hopefully, this experience will help me going forward when the comparison shit enters my mind.
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Reminds me of the sentence: never compare your inside to anybody else’s outsides.
I just had a little bout of comparing myself to a woman I just had a video call with for my teacher training. She is a teacher at a highschool already. Wow, she was prepared. And I was feeling bad as I was not. And she is better, blaaaaa. Now, thinking about it I realized that she just has the habit to take notes. Believe it or not, I cannot take proper notes. It’s a skill. I failed despite having all imaginable degrees to develop this skill. Maybe I should put it on my to do list.
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I was thinking about this again and how it can go the other way. Sometimes I find myself thinking negative thoughts about coworkers because it doesn’t feel as they pull the same amount of work I do. I know (because of reports) that I pull sometimes 3 or 4 times the weight of others. I’ve been working on this mindset for a while now because I don’t want to have the I’m better than you thoughts. I remind myself everyone does the best they can. Some days that helps me but it didn’t today. I’ll do better on my next work day. I find when I do this type of comparison I get resentful and there’s no reason for that.
Reminding myself and everyone else comparison is not your friend
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So true, when comparing no matter to what, I always lose.
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I am guilty of this. When I began a team training class at the gym I would compare my speeds to those next to me and sometimes would push more than I could. Often the ones next to me were people who had more experience and definitely had been training longer. I looked up to them and I would tell myself I should be able to do the same. After Covid I was out of shape and went back to that same class. This time I told myself I am competing only with me from my base. As long as I improve from my starting point I am doing good. I have been getting better and now that I am not drinking I am doing heavier weight and faster run speeds. Thanks for this thread.
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The start of something is where I feel most comparison happens and I think we are are guilty of this in some aspect whether it’s fitness, sobriety or just day to day stuff. Thank you for adding to the thread 
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Comparison is not your friend
Motivation is,
If you compare yourself to someone with more experience or expertise you’ll always feel like your losing and give up,
I was giving a guitar lesson the other day, and the kid 16 year old, still kinda new was like wow I wish i could do what you do but I don’t know if I ever will.
I said sure you fucking can, what I do is off of 20 years of playing, what I do is me, I don’t want you to be me cause you can’t, I want you to take what you learn and be you. Learn your own feel and style, that’s the most important
Warren Buffett once said put yourself in a room with 3 broke people you’ll be the 4th. And it’s true
You can apply that analogy to everything, instead of comparing yourself to others, ask how they got to where they are. Knowledge is power, use them as motivation to succeed not to quit.
Another Warren Buffett saying, when the tide rolls out you’ll see who’s been swimming naked. And that applies to everything as well, you get jealous and loathe your neighbors 7 day vacation in Maui. Only to find out later they and hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt, hate that perfect family image your high school friend perceives on Facebook only to find out their marriage is falling apart in real life,
People doing better than you should inspire you to reach goals, people Showing off their flashiness, don’t chase them, as they probably built a shell of a house on a sinking foundation
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I love this! And the Facebook thing is so true! People generally only post the good stuff
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This is very true
Love everything you said here
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