Georgia’s Story
And at the end of the day, the first and only thing that really matters is what you want, and your opinion of you. I wanted to start this piece of writing with that sentence because as humans, I believe a lot of us heavily depend on the opinions of others. Whether this be during competitions, likes on Instagram, comments from family or friends; we thrive off praises and compliments. But why? Why do we seek the validation of others so much? I question this regularly, because as my first sentence said, the only opinion that really matters is the one inside your head… your opinion.
I never used to be, but I am now an intrinsically motivated human being. By this, I mean the goals I have are things I want to achieve for me. I want to break records, I want to smash my PB’s, I want to leave a stand in powerlifting and break stereotypes. Having a goal that matters to you, is by far the most important thing that will carry you, but also allow you to accept yourself. I used to be extrinsically motivated. I used to want to look good for the validation of others. However, just because Billy that benched 100kg in the gym said I looked good, I still did not feel like I looked good, and I certainly didn’t feel a sense of achievement. Unless you are happy with yourself, take pride in who you are and what you have become, 1st place medals, compliments and Instagram likes mean absolutely nothing.
Self-acceptance does not come easy to everybody. For years I have put myself down about the way I look and my personal fitness. I used to compare myself to others, find images on social media I wanted to look like… but then feel utterly awful because comparing usually meant I was the one that wasn’t as good, and social media images were photos that seemed a century away from achieving. What I now know is looking up to people can inspire and drive you to do well. I no longer look at those stronger or in better shape than me and put myself down, because I have huge admiration and respect for the hard work that goes into every person’s fitness goals. I see those people as huge inspirations, because they drive me to my own goals, remind me that hard work can get you to good places.
Once I set goals for myself; intrinsically, the progressions were huge. I accepted that there would always be people that looked incredible and a lot stronger. I learnt that me crying because I wasn’t like them didn’t stop them from improving on their own goals, it just got in the way of my own achievements and successes.
I focussed so much on myself, slowly but surely, I became the version of myself I wanted to be. It has been a battle and a half, but I genuinely love the skin I am in and take huge pride in the hard work I have done to get here. Of course, I have wobbles, I am only human. There are days I wake up and hate the way I look, and there are days I do a training session and end up in tears because it did not go my way. But it always comes down to reminding myself of where I was and where I am at now.
I am now a powerlifter. I find strength training so empowering. Hitting PB’s, the hard work, getting screamed at by people to lift on platform on competition day is what I utterly love. I love the confidence it has given me; I love the hard work and the people I have met along the way. And again, those goals I have set for myself are for me, they aren’t there for any other reason. Of course, pleasing my coach, getting 1st place, making my parents proud is an amazing feeling, but you still must want to do a goal for you. You could take first place in a powerlifting or physique competition, you could get client of the month from your PT, you could get 1 million + likes on Instagram… and they might make you feel good temporarily. But deep down, you must have accepted yourself. It is important to take pride, be able to reflect, be able to accept who you are and how far you have come. And that does not mean becoming complacent. I think it is well and truly incredible that we can continue to grow and adapt and become better versions of ourselves. Just because I have grown to accept the way I look and take huge pride in the strength gains I have seen in my first year of powerlifting, that is by no means stopping me from getting better. I still have goals to look better, lift more, break records. But I can look at myself in the mirror from time to time, smile at the achievements I have made, and take huge pride in it all.
So, work on yourself and the goals you want to achieve. There will always be people better, and there will always be idiots that try to put you down. Use that energy to drive you and focus you on where you want to be. All fitness goals, competitive or not can get hectic, stressful, and messy. But please remember, at the end of the day; the first and most important thing that really matters, is what you think of yourself and where you want to go from there.