Starling Fitness: Daily writings on Fitness, Diet, and Health

That ARThletic Girl posted a couple of images (one of which she drew herself) with the motto: Don’t let comparison steal your joy. This is what she said:

This has recently become my life motto. I find that comparing myself and my life to other people is dangerous for my self esteem. Sometimes it does me some good because it makes me appreciate what I am and what I have, but more often than not it leaves me feeling inadequate and a whole bunch of things I’m most probably not.

First, she posted this one, which is beautiful and simple.

But this one really drives home the point.

I have talked about this issue before on my personal blog:

• Pick Me! – The Girl With The Most Cake

Back then, I said:

Does it matter that I’m not the girl with the MOST cake? Nope. All that matters is that I bring it, every day. Time to put down the cake now.

That was back in 2006 and I really have STILL not recovered from that SXSW trip. I am STILL struggling with bingeing and I haven’t gotten back to the weight that I was on that trip. I am still trying to stuff my face with the most cake, when really what I want is…

What do I want?

Maybe that’s the problem…

For seven LONG years, I have been letting comparison steal my joy and stuffing cake down my gullet to compensate for it. I’m printing up that image and plastering it to EVERYTHING until I get over this.

Last Sunday, this postcard from PostSecret was posted and I thought it was particularly insightful.

It reads:

Being FAT is like having your most humiliating “SECRET” visible for the world to SEE and JUDGE.

It’s true. For years, I’ve assumed that I can’t hide the fact that I’m fat, so I’m not going to try to mask it with black clothing or by limiting the styles of clothing I let myself wear. What is more humiliating? Being fat or being fat in a pair of comfortable shorts? They’re BOTH humiliating, so I decided LONG ago that I was still going to wear shorts and mini-skirts because I can’t HIDE it.

PostSecret‘s beneficiary is the National Hopeline Network. It is a 24-hour hotline (1 (800) SUICIDE) for anyone who is thinking about suicide or knows someone who is considering it.