I used to hate Red Bull athletes. Every time one overtook me on a mountain trail, I felt it. That quiet, ugly voice: “You’re not good enough.”
I live in Andorra. It’s basically a training home for elite athletes.
MotoGP racers. Tour de France cyclists. Dakar Rally drivers.
These people have made suffering their profession. 😆
And they are at the top of their game.
And there I was — a 52-year-old who works out every day, proud of his 9-10 km/h mountain pace — getting humiliated on a Tuesday morning.
Then a good friend (Julian Ballantyne) told me something I haven’t been able to shake:
“If you compare yourself to others, you will only be disappointed. Either you’re disappointed in yourself, or you’re disappointed in them.”
I see the same thing destroy my coaching clients.
Successful entrepreneur. Great business. Good life.
Then dinner with an old friend who just sold his company for eight figures — and suddenly everything they’ve built feels worthless.
Nothing changed. But comparison rewired everything.
Here’s the only scoreboard that matters:
– Where you were one year ago
– Where you are today
– Where you want to be
That’s your race.
So today, when another Red Bull athlete blew past me on the trail?
I smiled. And waved.
Because I wasn’t thinking about him.
I was thinking about the life I’ve built, where 8 AM on a Tuesday means trail running in the mountains — not commuting.
Whose scoreboard are you running on?
–
–
PS: Enjoy this?
Ready to build your own Epic Life?
Join my community of subscribers to the Epic Life Newsletter here> https://robin-coenen-newsletter.kit.com/53c375a1b4