How to Deal with the Comparison Trap as a Shred Girl

The comparison trap and being an athlete—the two kind of go hand in hand, and can be really tough to navigate. I was writing this article on How to Help Your Athletes Fight the Culture of Comparison for TrueSport a couple of months back, and as I was, I couldn’t believe how much of it applied to the Shred Girls I know in real life. That’s because when you want to be good at something, in this case, riding bikes, you should surround yourself with great influences—strong women (and men) and other girls that really push you to try new things, to bring your A game, and to do things you didn’t think you were capable of doing. That’s awesome—but it can sometimes make you feel kind of crappy when you’re not immediately as good as someone else. Or you see a girl crushing it in BMX, but you’re racing cyclocross. It’s super easy to get caught in the comparison trap as an athlete—we are literally scored and timed based on our ability, so how could we *not* get caught up?

But getting down on yourself because someone else is crushing it doesn’t help you or anyone else!

“Competition itself is neutral, neither good or bad. It’s what we make of it. You need to help athletes define success in competition, which may not be winning,” says Frank L. Smoll, author of “Self-esteem and children’s reactions to youth sport coaching behaviors.”

So, that’s something a parent or coach can help you with, but it’s something I want you to think about yourself—what does success mean to you in cycling? What does it really look like? Is it nailing a jump in a practice ride, mastering a wheelie, getting on the podium in a race, or getting a few watts faster on a local hill climb? I find for me, when I’m feeling down on myself and comparing myself to others, it’s usually because I don’t have my own goal in mind (or even know what my own goal is) and I get confused and think someone else’s goal should be my goal, or that I’m not doing enough.

But really, how can you apply this to yourself? Let’s use an example: How am I defining success for me? For example, my goal is to ride a certain local mountain bike trail near my house without needing to unclip and put a foot down. When I step back and think about my own goal—riding that trail—I realize that I have NO reason to be comparing myself and feeling bad because another girl is over in California doing a big-volume road biking camp right now. Her success there has absolutely NOTHING to do with me cruising down that trail. In fact, even if that girl was riding the trail that I set my goal on, it still would have NOTHING to do with my own goal.

What does have to do with my goal? Me, setting time to actually ride that trail. Me, practicing my wheel lifts on the curb in our parking lot so I can tackle that rock garden. Me, taking care of my bike so it can handle whatever is on the trail ahead of me. Me, doing my yoga and my core work to get stronger. Me, eating healthy meals and not getting sick and getting enough sleep. My goals are all about me—I’m the one who can them happen, and me wasting time feeling like I’m ‘less’ than someone else isn’t going to get me down that trail any faster!

Pssst… if you need help with setting a goal, check out this article, A Quick Guide to Goal-Setting: Learn the ABCs!

Now get out there and be proud of the work that you’re putting in and know that it’s enough—no matter what anyone else is doing… and share this article with someone who needs it!