It kills me to see skaters so proud of themselves for how they skated and then be crushed when the results are posted.  They could have a great skate for themselves and be on cloud 9 until they see their name posted at the bottom of the list.  Competitions are a wonderful way to gain motivation to see how you can improve based on others, but in the end you should be your only judge.

You never know how much time, commitment, money and training anyone else in your group has put in.  All you know is what you have done and how far you have come.  If you haven’t trained as hard as you could have, you know you need to for next time.  If you have trained as hard as you could, then you should be happy knowing you gave it your all.  Many times skaters don’t realize how much the other skaters in their group train.  Instead of getting discouraged from your placement be encouraged by it to train harder and stronger for next time.

Skaters continuously are moving up in levels and it is always hard to compete the first time at a higher level.  It is often times a learning experience and you may not win right out of the gates.  Again, you need to remember that other skaters may have been in that level for a few years or have been working on the harder jumps for more years.  If it is your first time competing at a new level, learn from the other skaters and see what you could improve on.  Most importantly, remember how much you have improved instead of comparing yourself to others when you don’t know their history.

Below are a few great examples of reasons to stop comparing yourself to others written by Joshua Becker

1. Comparisons are always unfair. We typically compare the worst we know of ourselves to the best we presume about others.

2. You have nothing to gain, but much to lose. For example: your pride, your dignity, your drive, and your passion.

3. There is no end to the possible number of comparisons. The habit can never be overcome by attaining success. There will also be something—or someone—else to focus on.

4. Comparison puts focus on the wrong person. You can control one life—yours. But when we constantly compare ourselves to others, we waste precious energy focusing on other peoples’ lives rather than our own.

5. Comparisons often result in resentment. Resentment towards others and towards ourselves.

6. Comparisons deprive us of joy. They add no value, meaning, or fulfillment to our lives. They only distract from it.

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Everyone trains differently.  Everyone performs differently under pressure.  And everyone goes out and tries their best.  That is all you can do is go out and try your best.  Even if the placement is not what you had hoped for, just remember how you skated in the past.  If you have improved since the last time, you are a winner no matter what the paper results read.