Wednesday, September 23, 2015

The Joy Stealer

It's Wednesday Word with Deb Runs, and this week's word is comparison. I'm getting ready to leave on a trip out of town, but I couldn't leave without a brief blog post about this word. What kind of blogger would I be if I didn't participate? All the other bloggers are doing it...


And there you have it. You've all heard the saying:

Comparison is the thief of joy

And it is so true. In life, and on the road. We all do it. We women look at other women--their bodies, their homes, their families, their jobs. Do we measure up?

Last winter, when I was struggling with my son, I did a pretty good job of beating myself up. All my friends' kids are looking at colleges and the future, and here I am begging my son to go to high school. A few weeks ago, at my youngest son's rugby game, I was talking with another woman, a mother of 5. She was telling me where all her kids go to college. She pulled out a picture of them on a day where they all went kayaking on Lake Michigan, a gift they gave her for Mother's Day. Feeling like I couldn't take it anymore, I finally asked her how she gets those young adults to all do something with her. Then she told me the story behind the picture. Sure, it was a fun day...once everyone got on board with the plan.

Things aren't always what they seem...


That was a great reminder for me that what I see on Facebook isn't always the true story. I like to keep things real, but I have yet to learn that other people don't. For most people, it's all about appearances.

And this got me thinking about running and my marathon training. When I put my training plan on the blog, I heard a lot of comments about the lack of a 20 miler on my plan. Some of the commenters asked about my low mileage. As runners, we are innately competitive, be it with other runners or just ourselves, and seeing someone doing something different makes us question what we are doing.

Trust the plan. 

Don't compare your plan to what other runners are doing.

And for those of you who choose not to run for a goal time, but just for the accomplishment of finishing; and those of you who choose not to run a race at all...


We're all on our own journey.

I'm linking up with DebRuns for Wednesday Word, which is comparison. What say you?











Do you set high goals for yourself? How do you set your standards? Do you compare yourself to other runners?

6 comments :

  1. I can totally relate to this! It is so easy for me to get wrapped up in the comparison game....it's such a waste of time and energy! We just gotta keep doing what we're doing!

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  2. Comparison can be a particularly tough trap to get into when dealing with teenagers! Glad the the lady told you the behind-the-scenes story.

    Thanks for linking up!

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    1. I'm glad she told me too! I've been feeling very insecure as a mom these days.

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  3. This is so true! Definitely a good reminder!

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