What to compare, and what not to

If you’re going to compare, compare effort; not output.

Output is seductive. It looks clean. Numbers, results, milestones. But output is also where responsibility quietly leaks away. When results don’t come, it’s easy to blame timing, luck, genetics, or circumstances.

Effort is different.

Comparing effort shifts the lens from reward to responsibility. It forces a more honest question: Did I show up the way I said I would? That question is uncomfortable, but it puts control back where it belongs.

Results are often delayed.
Process is immediate.

Even when the outcome doesn’t arrive on schedule, the process leaves you better equipped than before. Stronger habits. Better judgment. More capacity to handle the next try.

This is why I’ve never found fitness metrics to be the point.

It’s never about the biceps.
Never about the dead lifts.
Never about the burpees.

Those are just visible outputs.

What actually matters is the thing between your two ears.

The discipline to return.
The ability to stay with discomfort.
The choice to focus on what you can control, especially when progress is slow.

Compare effort.
Let results take care of themselves.