The _______est one in the room.

I’ve never been one for burpee penalties, but this may be the one instance wherein I institute a “drop and give me 10”.

Let’s get them all out of the way…

Here are the top “I’m the _____est one in the room” s I’ve heard in the last 90 days:

  • Oldest
  • Youngest
  • Fattest
  • Most out of shape
  • Strongest
  • Weakest
  • Busiest
  • Poorest
  • Least Competitive
  • Only Competitor
  • Thinnest
  • Slowest

We’re all the ____est. What now?

I didn’t sit down intending this post to be the “tough love” post. What I do intend is to provide a little perspective. As the filter for all things good and bad in the gym, I have the luxury of a bird’s eye view.

For every 55 year old established professional complaining about being the oldest in the class there’s a 22 year old rockstar athlete up to their eyeballs in student loan debt – underemployed – looking up to the 55 year old’s career success.

So, while you’re looking around comparing yourself to others, they’re seeing your best attributes. Here’s the tough love part – get out of your head. We’ve all been the ____est. Dwelling on that is narcissistic. Know that for every quality you look up to in another athlete, there is someone looking up to your best qualities. Celebrate that.