I recently started jogging again, after not consistently running for ten years.
Today, my mile time is 11 minutes. This is twice as slow as my fastest time in high school (5 minutes 30 seconds).
However, it’s also 30 seconds faster than last month.
Same body, same truth — two totally different stories I could tell myself.
Compare to my teen self, I feel disappointment, grief and shame.
But compare to last month, I feel pride, progress and self-respect.
This isn’t just about running.
Thriving with rheumatoid arthritis means finding a balance between grieving who you were and learning to notice who you’re becoming.
You get to choose how you respond — that’s where your power is.
As Viktor Frankl said: “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
This idea comes up all the time in my Rheum to THRIVE support groups and self-paced course — how to hold both grief and gratitude, acceptance and growth. Stay tuned as this month I’ll be running some specials to celebrate the FIVE year anniversary of this program!
I’d also love to hear from you how you grapple with “comparison-itis” and find perspective!
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