Two days ago, at the breakfast table, my mother told me somewhat gleefully that she had walked for 1 hour and 10 minutes that morning. It was apparently her personal best 🙂
My mother is a bit overweight and not in the best of health. And when she first started walking, even 20-30 minutes was extremely painful. But gradually, she has caught up.
However, if she compares her walking with someone who runs 5 km, she will feel that what she does is insignificant. Similarly, a 5k runner will find himself a big zero compared to marathoner, who in turn will find someone else who is a 10x more extreme runner.
There will always be someone who is stronger, smarter, or more accomplished than us. But that’s not the point.
The real point is whether we are doing whatever we can for ourselves — within our constraints and capabilities.
There are no absolute benchmarks for anything. A 10km run is a lifetime achievement for one person and a warmup run for another.
Just because someone else does something better or bigger does not make your achievements any less significant.
Your achievements and efforts are meant for you — they are not a trophy to be compared with someone else’s.
– Rajan