E120 Rachel Runge Not Comparing Self to Others
Let’s Be Well Together Podcast - Episode 120
Date: May 14, 2024
Participants: John Webster, Elise Seifert, Cameron Earnshaw and Sheila Webster
Guest: Rachel Runge
Start Times and Segments:
[0:00:16] What’s On Your Mind: The Canadian Mental Health Association gave a great tip – share a compliment. It’s free to give someone an authentic compliment and it brings joy. Give it a try.
[0:10:38] Expanding Minds Interview: [Physical and General Wellness] We interview Rachel Runge, who tended to compare herself to others. It’s not surprising after she pursued a career as a lawyer. It’s competitive, staring with the competitive process to get into law school. Throughout law school, we’re reminded that it’s going to be difficult to find articling positions. Once we begin as a lawyer, we’re measured heavily on metrics. Rachel got advice to stop comparing herself to others and make small improvements in herself week over week and year over year. She thought, “That sounds nice, but how do you do it?” Meanwhile, she started taking group fitness classes at Orangetheory, which includes benchmark tests, such as a 1-mile run or 2,000 metre row. She saw her performance improve over time. In the middle of a run, the mentor’s advice hit her like a ton of bricks – to make small improvements in herself over time, and not to compare herself to others. She was running beside a friend who was trying to hit a faster time target. Rachel realized, “This is what it is”. She was just as excited for myself to hit her own target as she was for her friend to hit the faster target. That’s what Rachel’s mentor meant when she said stop comparing yourself to others. Check-in and see whether you’re doing better than you were last time. Then it resonated.
[0:26:57] Adventures of the Starving Artist: Starving Artist – a ringing phone woke Cameron up to great news from a student. She had a breakthrough with her voice training and wanted to share. It gave Cameron a lift.
[0:30:21] Move That Body: Move that Body – We’re often stuck at home. We found an article with suggestions about how to move while at home.
[0:36:29] Running Popup: We’re seeing in our podcast conversations and interviews that becoming well is work, but it’s not a mystery. Perusing our website’s archives page shows lots of examples.
[0:38:21] Flipside of the Coin: Partners in a relationship have different interests. It helps us to give space and time to our partner, so they can enjoy things you may not enjoy.
Quotes and Take-Aways:
Rachel – I lived through the pandemic myself in a one-bedroom condo. It was challenging. I was going into the office for socialization at that point.
Rachel – Orangetheory fitness is a group fitness class. There are different templates, by which I mean the structure of the class. The cool thing about Orangetheory is that there are studios worldwide. We’re doing the same template as Sydney, Australia is doing on the same day.
Rachel – With the group classes, the bigger the class the more energy there is.
Rachel – In a group fitness class you feel a sense of belonging, because you’re all in it together. It’s the same thing when I visit Orangetheory studios in other cities. I felt the energy and I felt the connection with the rest of the class even though I didn’t know anyone else.
Rachel – When I look back and reflect on why I tend to compare myself to others, I think that’s natural given that law is a competitive field. It starts with a competitive process to get into law school. You’re judged largely on paper with admissions committees. We don’t have an opportunity for interviews. It’s natural to become competitive early on. Throughout law school, we’re reminded that it’s going to be difficult to find articling positions. We’re coached constantly on how to improve our resumes and interview skills. It doesn’t end there. Once we’re hired back as an associate, we’re measured heavily on metrics. We hear about billable hours and fees. Some places measure how many files you’re carrying. Others measure how quickly you close a file. It’s easy to want to find self-worth in those metrics. For me, I’d be looking over my shoulders at my peers and ask myself whether I was keeping up, and whether I was ahead or behind the pack. I spent a lot of focus comparing myself to others.
Rachel – I got advice to stop comparing myself to others, and make small improvements in myself week over week and year over year. It came from a colleague a few years senior to me in the context of comparing me to my former self, in a different role – as a litigator. I was go go go. I made a decision to focus more on the regulatory space. There was a natural slowing down as I learned a new area of law. She suggested I stop comparing myself to what I used to be, and stop comparing myself to others. At first I thought, “I don’t get it”. It didn’t land with me. I thought, “That sounds nice, but how do you do it?”
Rachel – I went into to Orangetheory thinking I wasn’t going to do a 2,000 metre row. A friend said, “Oh yes you are”. My only goal was to finish it. I did. I finished it in a slower time, but I thought, “Yeah! I did that!”. I might have a bad day at work or be exhausted and still go to the gym. It gives me the sense of “I did that!”. I still committed to myself. I don’t see myself changing now.
Rachel – The advice to make small improvements in myself over time, and not to compare myself to others struck me after going to Orangetheory. It hit me like a ton of bricks on a one-mile run. One of my friends is very fast. She can run a mile in somewhere between 7 and 8 minutes. I just wanted to break 10 minutes. I was halfway through that run and I realized, “This is what it is”. I was just as excited for myself to break 10 minutes, because I was on track, as I was for my friend to break 7 minutes. That’s what she meant when she said stop comparing yourself to others. Check-in and see whether you’re doing better than you were last time. Then it resonated.
Rachel – My most recent lesson came yesterday. I’ve had a rough couple months at the gym coming off an injury. We had a 1-mile benchmark run scheduled. I wasn’t going to do it. I was just going to power walk it (which is hard too). The person beside me asked if I was going for a personal best that day. I said that I just wanted to finish it. I realized when I came to the end of it that I’m starting to have some compassion for myself. I didn’t force myself to try a personal best. I set a realistic and more kind goal. This is compassion for myself. I’m not going to beat myself up if I don’t get my personal best.
Bulletin Board Quote brought to you by Rachel: There was a wild energy this morning
Guest Information: Rachel Runge is a self-described newfound fitness enthusiast. Her interest in fitness began in October 2022 when a mentor and friend suggested she give group fitness a chance at Orangetheory Fitness. In addition to the physical benefits of regular physical activity, she identified new ways of managing a demanding profession as she sets goals to push her fitness to new levels. Rachel is a lawyer who started her career in 2012. Since 2019 she’s been a lawyer at Gowling WLG, now with a focus on the regulation of insurance in Canada. She’s on the Board of Directors for the Hamilton Lawyers Club and for Wilfrid Laurier Alumni Association. Mentorship has been an important to Rachel in finding personal satisfaction in her career. Rachel has been a formal mentor to articling students and informal mentor to law students and junior lawyers. Outside the office, she volunteers her time with local high school students and law students in the Laurier/Sussex joint degree program.
Rachel’s Gowling WLG bio page: Rachel Runge
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Thanks for joining us,
(-(-_(-_-)_-)-) Your wellness check-in team
John, Sammy, Cameron, Sheila, Elise, Isabelle, Noura and Julie