So you’ve found this great new workout that you love, and it’s super tough, and you’re really proud of yourself for sticking with it. That’s great! Here’s the thing, though: You can enjoy your workout and be proud of yourself without tearing other people down for not participating, too.
This is a slogan that popped up on my Facebook feed the other day. I know the person who posted it feels proud and accomplished and tough, and good for them! But it made me feel lousy. I’m not doing that workout, so the message is that I’m not tough enough, not good enough, not trying hard enough. Why do we need messages like this? Why do we have to lift ourselves up by tearing other people down?
This applies to nutrition, too. I don’t care if you’re paleo, low-carb, low-fat, juicing, or whatever – you can eat whatever you like, but you don’t have to criticize other people’s nutrition choices to make you feel better about your own. Hate fast food? Okay, that’s great. But mocking and shaming people who go through the drive-thru doesn’t make you a better person. It makes you a bully.
We all want to feel good about ourselves and our choices. The mature way to go about that is by being secure in our decisions for their own sake, and not because they make us to feel superior to someone else.
Now, there’s nothing wrong with a little bragging. Did you run your fastest 5K? Master the butterfly in the pool? Beat your personal best in your workout of the day? That’s fantastic! Celebrate your accomplishments. And if you were truly in a competition with someone and you won, you can be proud and celebrate that, too. After all, you’re pretty fantastic! The point is, you can enjoy your successes without pointing out the “failures” of others.
As for that slogan above? I’ve fixed it.
Think of how much healthier and happier we’d all be if we stopped putting energy into tearing each other down, and instead helped to lift each other up.
