I have had the opportunity to work with a lot of different people; from millionaires to fighter pilots – I have worked with them all. One thing I have noticed…no matter what you do for a living, how smart you are or how much money you make – everyone is insecure about their fitness.
Ask a doctor about medicine, a lawyer about litigation or a pilot about aviation and they are as comfortable as they can be. Ask all the same people about their fitness and you can see their overall demeanor change. It may have nothing to do with whether or not they are in shape…the fact just is…EVERYONE is insecure about their fitness…to some degree.
Why are we insecure about fitness?
- It’s a “should†– You know what I mean…You SHOULD workout. Everyone knows they should workout, just like you should brush your teeth, wash your hands and clean your house. Having this “should†always in the back of our head makes us a little insecure…Why? Because when you see your neighbor head out for a run after work you think, “Dang, I SHOULD be doing that too.†When you see other people doing what you should be doing you feel inadequate, inferior and insecure.
- Physical dominance is, well, physical dominance – This one is pretty simple, especially for guys. In most people’s everyday life, the need to show your physical dominance, and or hunter-skills, in the hunter/gatherer sense, is very rare. However, when the occasion does arise and another human being is more physically dominate than you…you, again, feel inadequate, inferior and insecure
- Socially-created body image – This is BY FAR the worst for females, but is true for men too. Seeing advertisements, magazine covers and other sources of airbrushed, photo-shopped perfect human beings, ALL THE TIME, will make you feel inadequate, inferior and insecure. Watch this short clip from Bigger, Faster, Stronger or look at the picture below. GI Joe has been bulkin’ the last 50 years!!
What to do about “The Fitness Insecurityâ€
- Make Fitness a must – how you want to!!! – Turn a “should†into a “mustâ€. I know, easier said than done, right? Well, welcome to Fitness Nonconformity, where we would rather carry a 50 lb. sandbag to the end of the street and back, or drag a tire a few hundred yards, as opposed to staring at a wall (or tv) while on a treadmill!! For your fitness to become a must you are going to have to do something you enjoy. Period. Don’t try, and get sucked into, the same routine you already tried once – that didn’t work!! Try something new! Maybe even try something new every single day! Make sure you are enjoying what you do. You don’t have to be a…â€runnerâ€, “lifterâ€, “bodybuilder you be you and do whatever you want. Be a nonconformist. Turn your should into a must!
- Realize being fit is a lot of things, but not everything! – I love fitness, you kind of have to to write about fitness as much as I do :), but I am a firm believer in being a Renaissance Man, a person with many talents or interests. If someone is more fit than you, or more physically dominate than you…that’s ok! Being fit is very important, but so is being a mother, father, husband, wife, employee, son, daughter, etc.. Some people pursue fitness a little more than others, if that’s you, rock on! If not, it’s ok!! Just make sure you are never letting yourself down, because that’s all that matters.
- Umm, screw you! This is pretty much the mentality you have to take with these socially-created body images. Most of what you see out there is fake, false, fantasy, fallacy…need I alliterate more? So next time you have these images shoved down your throat…just say, “Screw you!†Be comfortable with yourself, don’t compare yourself to others…especially when the “other†is a person on a magazine cover.
Everyone is insecure about their fitness, from the congressman to the cocktail waitress, but not you…ANYMORE!!!
Here’s to destroying all of your fitness insecurities!!
-Jerred
###
Food for thought:
Why do you think people, who don’t care about politics, sports or fitness are, for some reason, completely and morally opposed to performance enhancers?? Does this link to the fitness insecurity embedded in all of us?