Rachel Smalley: Comparison is the thief of joy

Opinion

I was in Queenstown at the weekend to run the half marathon.

There were almost 10,000 athletes who took part, and it was a cracker of a day. The weather was stunning and I don't think you'll find a more beautiful marathon in the world.

What I love about running is that unless you're one of the elite athletes, you're really only competing against yourself.

I was there with friends who wanted to run the half marathon in under two hours and they did that. They got their time.

Niva Retimanu, my friend and colleague, was running the half marathon for her 50th birthday and she took forever ... as in forever. That's because she's a bit nuts and ran it dressed as a marmite and cheese sandwich. (One of her friends dressed up as Little Red Riding Hood, another as a tomato. It was quite the sight coming around the edge of Lake Wakatipu.)

Running marathons and half-marathons has never been about the time for Niva. It's always been about the journey, the sense of achievement and the people you meet along the way.

Some people walked the half-marathon or the 10km. Their goal, like all of us, was to get across the finish line - to complete.

Others were motivated by fitness, or weight loss. There were people of all shapes, sizes, ages and abilities.

That's the beauty of running. Anyone can do it and because you're only competing against yourself, everybody gets the same sense of achievement when they cross that finish line.

And as the popularity of running in this country continues to grow - and particularly among women - it delivers one of life's great lessons: "Comparison is the thief of joy."

If you compare yourself with others it will rob you of that sense of achievement, that sense of joy.

In pretty much every area of life, there will always be someone who is better than you, or someone who has more than you.

And as I ran in Queenstown, that's what dawned on me.

I passed people who were walking and they would cheer me on. I passed a few runners who'd hit the wall and had to walk, and as you run by you call out a few words of encouragement. We've all been there.

There were people who were faster than me and people who were slower than me. And we were all heading in the same direction - all trying to get to that finish line and to feel the sense of achievement when the medal is placed around your neck, and the endorphins kick in.

It's so easy to compare yourself with others in the visually manufactured world of social media - but you shouldn't.

Comparison is the thief of joy.

Don't rob yourself of life's "finish line moments".