Credit: Judy Baxter/Flickr/Creative Commons

We were recently on a cruise and one day I headed to the gym and exercise studio on the 11th deck. I decided to participate in a workout session that I had only observed from my corner of the studio the previous two days.

The class was more challenging than what I was used to.

Anyways, I made up my mind to step outside of my comfort zone and give it a try.  It was a tough workout. The instructor knew I was struggling and I found myself looking at the women around me who were obviously in better shape. Several times I was ready to quit, get up and walk away from the class.

But it was a windy day at sea and we found ourselves either rolling to the left or the right during our routine and loosing our balance. We couldn’t help but laugh at ourselves. The laughter loosened me up a bit and I decided that I wasn’t going to quit and leave the class.

Comparing myself to others has never gotten me anywhere. Comparison makes me feel bad about myself and not good enough.

Our focus gets all messed up when we compare ourselves to others.

So I decided to make this class about me. I carried on and did the best I could with each exercise and I am certain I looked foolish at times. But having decided not to compare myself to the other women, it changed everything and I started to focus and improve.

When we compare our progress to others we will want to quit and walk away, but when we decide to make it about our own progress something shifts.

Let’s loosen up a bit and learn to smile even laugh at ourselves.

We may feel foolish at times especially when we’re in unfamiliar territory. Its time to refocus, quit comparing and make our personal challenges about us then we can learn to rock and roll with the waves and find our balance too.

Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. (Galatians 6:4, NLT )