Made it back to the gym this evening after last week being mostly procrastination. I felt a noticeably better attitude within myself this evening, too; it felt more like I "wanted" to be there, and that made the whole experience less demoralising.
One thing I also think I solidified in my mind is the importance of not comparing yourself with others. You are there at the gym for yourself, not to compete against anyone else, so there's no need to feel bad or frustrated if other people around you seem to be doing "better" than you are.
And, to put it more bluntly, a fat disgusting lump like me is very obviously never going to match up to the ripped dude in the vest or the girl with the nice arse and the tight trousers, so there's no point being upset about it. The reason I'm at the gym is not to one day be the ripped dude in the vest (or the girl with the nice arse, for that matter) but rather simply to feel better about myself; to ache less; to once again be able to do things I used to be able to do without thinking twice about them.
Everyone's goal at the gym is different. And that means there's no real way you can — or should — feel like you're in direct competition with each other. It's easy to slip into that mindset — notice the person on the bike next to you ramping up the difficulty and pace and it's easy to want to do that too just so you don't "lose face", for example — but in reality the other people in the gym don't give a shit about you either; they're there for themselves, too.
I think keeping that attitude in mind on future visits will help. So long as I feel satisfied in what I accomplished on any given visit, that's the important thing. And from there, successful habits form and — hopefully, anyway — improvement follows.
Discover more from I'm Not Doctor Who
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
