What I learned from training with the elite

This past weekend, I joined Yoder Performance for the final day of a training camp which consisted of a 2 hour threshold ride followed by a 45 minute steady run off the bike. Every time I train with the group, I am humbled by the amount of talent within the group. I LOVE working out with this group but usually leave feeling a bit inadequate.

I am no slouch when it comes to endurance sports. I have spent a lot of hours training and building fitness over the years. I typically do pretty well at local events and could even find myself feeling proud the few times I’ve podiumed in races in the small pond. By most people’s standards, my physical conditioning is very good

This past Sunday, there was a professional triathlete training with the group who was on another level. Watching this individual cycle/run was an amazing experience. He made speed on the bike look effortless and what, to me, looked like a full out sprint, was just a nice steady run for this individual. Very controlled breathing, relaxed facial expression, and just out for a nice steady run off a threshold bike.

As I was laying in bed later in the evening, I had a thought I felt was worth recording. I tend to compare myself to the best I can find and usually beat myself up in the conversation. I do this in business, sport, lifestyle, family, and even with my neighbor who meticulously cares for his lawn and home. I think to myself, why can’t I be like this? My lightbulb moment in bed was: I am striving to be as good as people who I am not. What I should be striving for is to use my skills to the best of my ability to be the best version of Scott Donaldson I can be.

What provoked this is the athletes who I thought were bad to the bone, super talented, incredibly fast could have been feeling the same way I feel about them as this professional athlete when zooming by them on the bike and barreling down the road past them on the run. Comparing oneself to others is a losing battle.

For me, this is a losing mental battle that I need to stop fighting. I will never be the best athlete, superior business leader, the perfect parent or husband, or the meticulous home care superhero.

It seems to cliche, “Don’t compare yourself to other, be the best version of you that you can be.” But it is SO TRUE! I need to live my life being the best version of me that I can be. This will ultimately benefit my wife and daughter, the business, my physical performance, and probably my lawn too 🙂

Photo Credit: Mitchell Ebersole