Reminder: Do not compare yourself to others

Comparison is the thief of joy.

Everyone has to start somewhere. My friend can run a 17 minute 5k, which is impressive. I can hardly get anywhere near that. He is a far better runner than me and I was always astonished and looked up to him.

But recently he told me how impressed he was that I finished my law degree at 21 In Australia (normal age here, if you study straight from high school), that my chess rating is 1500 (which is to me pretty average for a club player), etc.

All of these things to me are not impressive at all. Yet he is someone who has always struggled academically. I'm really not saying this to boast but just to get everyone to acknowledge that even if you are new to running, you have to start somewhere and even if you aren't "naturally gifted" with elite genetics, there are probably many things you have accomplished in your own life, or many unlearnt natural talents you have, that would impress even the most elite runners.

Nobody is a "good" or "bad" person just because of how fast they run. You are a human and it's OK to be new to something, to take time to learn a new hobby, to enjoy it.

And ofc there will also be people with huge "egos" but remember nobody can be the best at everything.