People love to post photos and videos of themselves crushing their workouts or lifting a crazy amount of weight. But it’s important to remember the truth - that did not happen a few short weeks or even a couple of months ago. Do not forget the day-to-day grind that these folks endured that resulted in the final product.

Hard work, sacrifice, and dedication need to be in your arsenal of tools to get the results you desire. But rarely do people share the photos of the journey they took to get to their Adonis state. They are not posting photos of themselves lifting puny weights, running slowly and wheezing to catch their breath, or showing off their bloated stomachs.

This gets back to what drives me crazy about social media…perception and reality are two separate and very different beasts entirely. So next time you look through your Facebook or Instagram feed, be cognizant that you are seeing someone’s highlight reel, not the bloopers and missteps they encountered along the way. STOP comparing yourself to what others are doing and just enjoy your own progress and who you are. Need some extra help with this? Read this article I wrote for myfitnesspal back in July, and pay particular attention to #2.

Image credit: Alia Wilhelm on Unsplash

I’ve recently decided to do some Spring Cleaning on the focus of my newsletter and blog content. Instead of just providing fitness tips, I want to give you a broader view of what it takes to become and stay a fit person inside and out. Having a beach body is a popular goal for most, but physically fit people don’t just get that way from spending all their free time in the gym. They also have to adopt lifestyle changes such as removing negative forces from their lives.

Social Media

Because it is such an influence in most people’s lives, I thought I would start with social media. I would be lying to you if I said I do not enjoy social media. Just like you, I have my favorite pages that I frequently look at. While social media can be a great source of motivation or inspiration for some, it can also make others feel bad about themselves.

#NoFilter

If you were to head to your Instagram feed right now, chances are you’d probably see a never ending stream of friends and celebrities looking like a million bucks. Their hair is perfect, their skin is glowing and their smile is beaming. Rarely do you see unflattering pictures of people looking tired, unfit, or in bad lighting. In the world of Photoshop and Instagram filters, everyone is striving for perfection but guess what—no one is perfect! It’s not that this person is necessarily lying to you, they are merely choosing to show you only part of the truth. That “perfect picture” probably took them 20-30 attempts.

Delete, Delete, Repeat

You might be surprised to know that there is a physiological change that happens within us when we look at these photos. We might be having a perfectly fine day one second only to feel bad about ourselves seconds later. This behavior is not conducive to being a fit person. Here is my challenge to you: If someone you follow (whether it be a brand, family member, celebrity, or friend) makes you feel bad about yourself after viewing their profile, DELETE them from your digital life. If the feeling persists, you can also take it a step further and DELETE them from your real life. Instead, focus on the positive forces in your life; fitness, job, health, family.

And lastly, STOP comparing yourself to others or being ashamed of your fitness level. Those “perfect people” have bad days too, they are just choosing to share a filtered version of themselves.

*image by David Ramalho, Flickr

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