Being Yourself

I don't know what it is, but there is something about us humans that love to compare ourselves to other people.  

"If only I had biceps and abs like that guy," I think to myself at the gym.  (That is, until that voice in my head that sounds a little like Elvis says, "Dude, you're staring at a guy!  You better stop before he sees you and pummels you with that dumbbell.")

I admit it has gone the other way, as well:  "Sure, I may be fat, but at least I don't look like Chris Farley as a Chippendale."

I dare say that all of us have done one or both of these a couple of times in our liife.  (Heck, maybe even a couple of times today.)

Let me let you in on a little secret: You are you!  You are not anybody else and nobody else is you.  We all have our strengths and weaknesses and we have to live our lives with those strengths and wekanesses that we have.

For example, my 5'7" body was not made to slam dunk a basketball.  No matter how hard I try, no matter how much I practice, I can barely touch the bottom of the net.  

And, even then, I can only do it while standing on a chair.

Obviously, I was not made to play in the NBA, but does that make me any less of a person than Lebron James?  ("Sure," I think to myself, "He is famous and has a bazillion dollars, but can he raise 5 children?")

The point is, you may be at the gym later today and see a guy easily lifting weight that is comparable to a Hyundai.  Meanwhile, the vein in your head is about to pop as you struggle to lift two 15-pound dumbbells.  That doesn't make him any better than you.  It makes him different than you, but not better.

Don't set your goals based on somebody else.  Only you can judge what you are capable of doing.  Push yourself to be the best you can be.  

I know you can do it!