Comparison isn’t necessarily your enemy. It all depends on how you use it.

Human beings naturally compare themselves to others. We observe people’s accomplishments, physical appearance, abilities, and lifestyles, and use those observations to evaluate ourselves.

Fitness is no exception.

You walk into a gym and see someone who’s significantly stronger, leaner, or more muscular than you. You scroll through social media and encounter someone with an incredible physique. It’s easy to look at these individuals and feel dissatisfied with your own progress.

But what if you approached these comparisons differently?

Instead of becoming discouraged by someone else’s accomplishments, you could use them as an opportunity to improve yourself.

There’s a right way and a wrong way to compare yourself to others. Learning the difference can completely change how you approach your fitness journey.

The Wrong Way to Compare Yourself

Imagine you’ve been lifting weights for six months. You walk into the gym and see someone who’s been training consistently for ten years.

They’re significantly stronger, more muscular, and more experienced than you.

You might start questioning your own progress. You might feel inadequate because your physique doesn’t resemble theirs or because you can’t lift nearly as much weight.

This is the wrong way to approach comparison.

You’re looking at someone else’s accomplishments and using them as a reason to feel bad about yourself.

Social media makes this problem even worse. We’re constantly exposed to exceptionally fit individuals, professional athletes, and fitness influencers. Their physiques and accomplishments can create unrealistic expectations about what our own fitness journeys should look like.

Instead of recognizing these individuals as examples of what’s possible, we become discouraged because we haven’t achieved the same results.

This mindset does absolutely nothing to improve your fitness.

The Right Way to Compare Yourself

Rather than becoming discouraged by someone else’s accomplishments, become curious about them.

Ask yourself what makes these individuals successful.

What habits allow them to maintain their physiques? How consistent are they with their training? What does their diet look like? How do they manage their time? What personality traits contribute to their success?

Look beyond the physical results and examine the behaviors that produced them.

Perhaps you admire someone’s muscular physique. Instead of simply wishing you looked like them, investigate the habits that helped them build it.

Maybe they’re disciplined with their nutrition, train consistently, prioritize sleep, and have developed the patience to pursue long-term goals.

These are attributes you can begin developing yourself.

Perhaps you admire someone’s strength. Study their training approach, their consistency, and their willingness to progressively challenge themselves.

Maybe someone else impresses you with their cardiovascular endurance. Learn how they structure their training and incorporate those principles into your own routine.

Don’t just admire the results. Study the process.

Turn Admiration Into Action

Once you’ve identified the qualities you admire in someone, start incorporating them into your own life.

You don’t need to replicate someone’s entire lifestyle. Identify the habits and characteristics that align with your goals and work toward developing them.

Take inspiration from multiple people.

You might admire one person’s discipline, another person’s strength, and someone else’s nutritional habits. There’s nothing wrong with learning from different individuals and incorporating their best qualities into your own approach.

Over time, you’ll develop a collection of habits and principles that help you become stronger, healthier, and more capable.

The important thing is to actually put what you’ve learned into practice.

Admiring someone’s discipline won’t make you disciplined. Watching someone train won’t make you stronger. You have to take action yourself.

Use other people’s accomplishments as a blueprint, not a measuring stick for your self-worth.

Appreciate Your Own Progress

Learning from people who are ahead of you doesn’t mean you should disregard your own accomplishments.

Remember that everyone starts somewhere. The person you’re admiring today was once a beginner, too.

You might not be where you want to be yet, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t making progress.

Perhaps you’re lifting more weight than you were six months ago. Maybe you’ve developed better eating habits, improved your endurance, or finally established a consistent exercise routine.

These are accomplishments worth recognizing.

According to the CDC, approximately 72.4% of American adults aged 20 and older are overweight or obese. Furthermore, only 24.2% of American adults meet the federal recommendations for both aerobic exercise and muscle-strengthening activities.

If you’re consistently prioritizing your physical fitness, you’re already making a commitment that many Americans aren’t.

Be proud of that. Continue raising your standards, but don’t let someone else’s success convince you that your own efforts are meaningless.

Become Better by Learning From Others

There’s always going to be someone stronger, faster, leaner, or more experienced than you. That’s simply part of life.

Rather than resenting these individuals or feeling inadequate in their presence, recognize the opportunity they represent.

Surround yourself with people who challenge you. Study individuals who have accomplished things you aspire to achieve. Identify the qualities that made them successful and work to develop those qualities yourself.

Don’t waste your time wishing you had what someone else has. Figure out what they did to get there.

Admire their accomplishments. Learn from their habits. Develop their discipline. Then go out and build something of your own.

Train hard. Eat real food. Reclaim your strength.

— Coach Lou
Uncivilized Fitness