"Fitness is not about being better than someone else...it's about being better than you used to be."
"I have to remember this every single time a skinny little girl hops on the treadmill next to me and starts running like it is nothing. It is about being the better me!"
On the surface, this seems like a simple message of inspiration, something to keep me going when I find myself comparing my journey with someone else's. Unfortunately, what I posted was WRONG! Do you see where the problem lies?
It was very politely and correctly brought to my attention by a friend that "skinny little girls" are fighting their own battles. This friend, who shall remain anonymous sent me this,
"I saw your post...speaking from experience the skinny is not fun!!!! The battle to stay healthy and try and gain weight is a constant battle. I stopped going to the gym because the perception was I must have some eating disorder or I obsessively work out." It was like a HUGE hit over the head. Me calling a thin woman a "Skinny little girl" is no different than her calling me a "big fat girl". Wow. Really, just wow. Talk about a rude awakening.
Every single day I have to remind myself that I am worth every single thing I am doing. I am worthy of the changes I am making. My journey is my journey and my journey alone. But you know what? EVERY ONE IS ON THEIR OWN JOURNEY! Every single person on this planet has their own issues, their own things that they dislike about themselves. Every single person has that little voice inside them telling them that they are not good enough, strong enough, skinny enough, too skinny, smart enough, too silly, pretty enough, and pretty much every single negative adjective you can come up with. I apologize upfront for the word usage here, but you know what? That little voice is a bitch. That's right, I said it.
That little voice tries to keep me from accomplishing the things that I know I was meant to accomplish. That little voice tells that "skinny little girl" on the treadmill next to the "big fat girl" that neither one of them is good enough to be doing what she is doing. That voice is straight up, completely, 100% WRONG! We are all allowed to feel as if we are able to accomplish the things in life we want to accomplish. Psalm 139:13-14 tell us, "For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well." And then from Jeremiah 29:11, " For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." I don't know how you feel about that, but it gives me hope. I know that that little voice I hear in my head is NOT from the Lord. God wants me to have hope. He made me to have hope. He made me with a future in mind and that little voice telling me I can't do something goes against that future. That means that voice is NOT HIS!!
So, whether you are a "skinny little girl", a "big fat girl", a "wimpy dude", an "overweight man", or someone in unbelievably amazing shape that seems to have no worries in the world; we need to band together and STOP this crazy comparison game. We all have our own battles, our own struggles, our own sorrows, and more importantly our own amazing joys. Let's join together and celebrate those amazing joys. Judging someone based on the size of his or her clothes, the poundage of the dumbbell he or she is lifting, or even the size of his or her brain or wallet is ridiculous. It gets us NO WHERE! It does NOT make you any better, it does NOT increase or decrease your struggle, it will NOT make you FEEL better about yourself in the long run. What it will do is make that little voice even louder. I don't know about you, but my little voice is loud enough. I will do whatever I need to do to make it shut up. That includes not judging my fellow man or woman in any way.
I know it isn't a perfect science and I'm sure that judgement will creep in when I least expect it. But, I WILL be conscience of it and I will work very hard to keep it at bay. My mind will work toward being a judgement free zone. Feel free to join me.
Blessings.
PS...I have since removed the original picture, so you won't find it there.
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