Comparison Fatigue is Real

Comparison sneaks in quietly.

On race day, it might be at the start line, when you scan the field and wonder if you have trained enough. It might be mid-race, when someone passes you on a climb and you feel the pull to chase. It might be afterwards, scrolling through results, measuring your performance against someone else’s.

At first, comparison can feel motivating. But more often, it is draining. The fatigue does not come from the kilometres in your legs. It comes from the weight of running someone else’s race instead of your own.

Here is the shift: you get to be the guide.

You choose how you want to show up. You decide your strategy, your pacing, your fuelling, your checkpoints of presence. And you define what success looks like, whether it is crossing the finish line strong, finishing within the cut-off, or simply running with more steadiness than last time.

When you let your own rhythm guide you, racing becomes less about comparison and more about expression. You run the race you trained for, the one your body and mind are ready to hold, not the one dictated by someone else’s stride.

And comparison does not just live on the trail.

• It shows up in motherhood, when you look at how another mum seems to juggle everything with ease, and wonder why you cannot.
• It shows up in work, when someone else lands the role, the client, the new opportunity, and you question if you are enough.
• It shows up in friendships, in bodies, in bank accounts. All the subtle ways we measure ourselves against others until we are exhausted, not from living our lives, but from trying to live theirs.

That is why comparison fatigue is so real. It is not the work itself that drains us. It is the constant measuring.

If comparison is wearing you down, try this:

• Anchor your own plan: in races and in life. Know your rhythm so you are less tempted to follow someone else’s.
• Redefine success: not by outcomes, but by alignment with your values and goals.
• Notice the fatigue: when you feel more drained by comparison than by the effort itself, it is a sign to reset.
• Practise presence: whether on a trail climb or in a meeting, bring your focus back to what is yours to carry.

Reflection Prompt

• Where is comparison draining me more than the effort itself?
• What would change if I honoured my rhythm, on the trail, at home, at work, instead of measuring it against someone else’s?