A kick in the a$$.

We all need it sometimes. Some more than others. Some more often than others. Well I need it often. And more often than most. Recently I got it from a coaching call in one of the mentorship groups I’m in. Boy did it need it too. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows, especially when you’re getting in your own way. That’s the #1 problem, we are really the only ones in our way. Today’s day and age makes it possible for anyone to do anything; and more rapid than ever before. Struggling on a few fronts, it was the kick in the ass I needed. In reality the biggest shifts come in the form of mindset shifts. Those are the key to gains in health, fitness, business, relationships, you name it.

The biggest takeaway from that call was the subject of comparison and how it cripples us.

“Comparison is the thief of happiness.”

That’s a quote Ive heard many times before. It resonate’s with me more now because I realize it not only robs you of happiness, but it paralyzes progress more than anything else. I’ve been frozen in complacency, feeling sorry for myself and feeling like throwing in the towel. Not gonna lie, that thought happens a lot. It’s way easier to go and work for someone, get a safe income and beat to someone else’s drum. It’s a lot harder to stay in the fight for what you want when it seems to be crumbling around you. But it wasn’t the world or anything else that was crumbling, just my belief in me and my ability. It was comparing myself to other people’s journey. In the fitnesss world it easy to compare yourself to those in the industry for decades, influencers with millions of followers spewing shit to sell their programs. And instead of digging my feet in the ground, sharpening my teeth and getting dirty, I found myself cowering up and making myself small. Then I heard that live cast and that quote rang louder than it did before.

Comparison has killed more dreams than failure ever will.

It was as if Henry from Stranger Things had me in his grasp holding me in the air helpless and stuck in time. And just then Eleven, or in this case, the live cast by Nick Matthews of Change Lives Academy, dropped this on me and I snapped out of it, ready again to help transform lives. Comparing doesn’t move the needle. Comparing doesn’t lead to progress. Comparing stalls, steals and disrupts any sort of momentum. It sabotages our goals and dreams. So I put my headphones on; revisited my why’s; and it reminded myself of my journey. I’m me. You’re you. And our journeys are ours. Our experiences are ours. It doesn’t change the fact that I let time slip away because I chose to look at others and where they are on their journeys instead of using tunnel vision to impact those who I am meant to inspire and transform. What it did do was kick me in the ass and remind me of who the f@^k I am, what I’ve overcome, and where I am going. I have no time to spend worrying, comparing or complaining. And neither do you. You do you. I’m going to do me. I only have time to grind; And unwind with those who mean the world to me. Peace, love & fitness, Matty C.