Accepting mediocrity

I'm similar to you. If I'm not THE BEST, then I'm "mediocre" or "average". Guess what... I'm in therapy for it. It's not really a healthy way of thinking because it doesn't actually make you a better person - it only sets the bar for achievement for yourself higher and higher so that at some point, it's unattainable, and all you end up with is disappointment in yourself.

I agree that it's awesome to push yourself, but I think you need to accept yourself as a human being and not a superhero who can do everything as well as any other person on the planet. Those goals are not realistic. Marathon runners do not run at 13mph for 26 miles. Not sure where you get that.

I only say this because I see a lot of myself in the way you post. Hyper competitive to the point of self-destruction. My only advice is... Push yourself as long as you're being constructive about it for YOU, not to compare yourself to others, or to set yourself up for disappointment. You should be happy with what you can achieve. If you're not happy, then you need to readjust your goals, not train until you're injured.

I always believe in the path of least resistance. In terms of following MFP this means eating and drinking what I like within my calorie allowance while aiming for healthy options 80% of the time but not kicking myself when I don't. It means digging in occasionally training hard for a goal when I have an event coming up. It means taking it easy when I'm injured or, like now, recovering from illness. It means doing what I feel like for exercise when I'm not motivated to do what I'm "supposed" to do, so I've done something.

I'm never going to manage sub-10 minute miles over distance or bench my own weight. But, dammit, I can sprint for the trains faster than most 44-year-old women, run a 5K with just five minutes' notice to lace up my trainers, carry my friends' kids when they're all tuckered out from playing and still have energy to dance to cheesy 80s hits after midnight.

At the London Marathon, 40,000 people set off, but only two individuals will win. Does that mean it's not worth the, say, 39,950 people without a look-in of medalling taking part? Of course not, they all have their own goals that they set out to achieve, and for many of them it will just be to get over that finish line in one piece.

"Fitness" derives from being fit for purpose, as in "survival of the fittest". Be fit for what you want to do with your life and your leisure. :flowerforyou:

Generalise rather than specialise. Aiming to be the best <insert something here> is tough and works certain parts of the body extremely hard whilst often neglecting other area or other facets of fitness. Generalising means that you can give some aspects a bit of a rest whilst concentrating on another discipline of facet of "fitness".

So, rather than being a (for example) great distance runner. you could set yourself the goal to be a reasonable distance runner, who can also sprint, who can lift a reasonable amount of weight, has good flexibility and is an above average swimmer?

I am a TERRIBLE swimmer! My wife is better than me, which is probably the reason that we never go swimming together! :}

So basically if you can't be good at it you don't want to take part in it?

So, are you really worried about injury (in the P90X program you mention) or are you scared that your wouldn't be very good at it?

I would love to do a high intensity exercise program such as Insanity or P90X and would have no problem getting motivated to 'be the best that I could be'.... Unfortunately 40 years playing sport, broken bones, sprains, strains, and dislocations have taken their toll on my body. I know that when I 'give it my all' these days - an injury is sure to follow.

Knowing the answer to these questions may help you decide how to balance the fear of injury versus the fear of not being excellent at something?

Sounds like you're motivated by competition. Why not join a running (other sports are available) club which holds regular handicapped races so you can test yourself against people in the same age group and ability?

I bet Paula Radcliffe and Usain Bolt could go even faster if they weren't trying to avoid injury. I bet they've both pushed themselves too hard in the past against advice, got injured and got slapped down by their trainers. Truth is if you go out with an all-or-nothing attitude every time, you get hurt, are off your feet for weeks or months and find yourself back at square one.

Doing it the wrong way is more likely to make you mediocre than going for broke every time.

Being the best you can be doesn't mean pushing yourself to the limit every time you go out. It means training one thing - whether strength, endurance or speed - at that particular session. And it means taking rest, even if that's active rest, so you can benefit form those training session.

Bear in mind the START principle when setting goals. They must be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timely.