Dear You (the one comparing yourself to others on IG),
Closed Instagram this morning feeling like garbage about myself, and I need to process this with you because I know you've felt it too.
You know that feeling? When you're scrolling through fitness content and suddenly your 30-minute walk feels pathetic compared to someone's 2-hour workout. Your gentle pilates practice feels lazy next to someone's intense HIIT session. Your rest day feels indulgent compared to a "no excuses" mindset.
The comparison trap is so real, and it's everywhere.
This morning it was a post from a fitness influencer showing her "morning routine" - 5 AM wake up, meditation, journaling, green smoothie, hour-long workout, all before 8 AM. All beautifully photographed with perfect lighting and matching workout sets.
For about thirty seconds, I felt like a complete failure because I get to about half of those things in the morning before the kids get up.
Did you hear what I said? “… before the kids get up.” That isn’t an excuse, it’s a reality check. We all have different lives. That post isn't real life. It's marketing.
That influencer has a team. She gets paid to make fitness look effortless and perfect. Her entire job is to make you feel like you need to buy something - a program, a supplement, a lifestyle - to be as "successful" as she is.
Meanwhile, you're over here living an actual life. With real responsibilities, real constraints, real challenges that don't disappear for the perfect content shot.
Your inconsistent workout schedule because you're caring for aging parents? That's real life.
Your 15-minute movement sessions squeezed between meetings? That's real life.
Your body that doesn't look like a fitness model despite your best efforts? That's real life.
And real life is messier and more complicated and more varied than any social media feed will ever show you.
I think we need to get really honest about what we're consuming online and how it's affecting our relationship with ourselves. Because if your social media makes you feel worse about your efforts instead of inspired by them, it's not serving you.
You don't need to wake up at 5 AM to be healthy. You don't need to work out for an hour every day. You don't need to look like an influencer or eat like a wellness guru or have a morning routine that could be featured in a magazine.
You need to move your body in ways that feel good and sustainable for YOUR life. You need to nourish yourself in ways that support YOUR goals and circumstances. You need to rest when YOUR body needs rest.
The woman making six figures selling fitness programs online? Her needs are different from yours. Her resources are different. Her life is different.
Stop measuring your real life against someone else's highlight reel.
Your messy, imperfect, inconsistent efforts are enough. They're real. And they're yours. Keep killing it!
