A wise person once said to me, “You don’t go to the gym, see a totally fit, “stacked” person and say to yourself, Hmmm, I wonder why they are here? They are already totally fit.”
When you see the totally fit person at the gym, you inherently realize that they are there at the gym to maintain their body’s strength and flexibility. They got fit at the gym, and they stay fit by regularly going there to work out. Their body’s strength and flexibility and health are a priority to them, and this is shown by their actions.
My hairstylist is 60 and I have been going to get my hair done by her for almost a decade. Since I’ve known her she has always been thin and svelte. Even during the pandemic, she kept her weight steady. My hairstylist also has to stay on a gluten-free diet for her digestive health, and she told me once that it really bothers her that people assume that she is thin only because she is on the gluten-free diet. She works hard at maintaining her weight, and her health, and it “irks” her that people think that she just lucked into her long-lasting body type.
Whatever you admire about a person – their relationships, their career, their style, their health, their knowledge, etc., most likely did not come easy. Even if the natural, raw talents and abilities were there, it is difficult to grow, and to maintain these gifts. It’s an uncomfortable truth, but the facts are, people live their priorities. It’s insulting to someone to treat their best attributes, assets, and gifts as only lucky breaks, which just happened to easily and randomly fall upon them, out of the clouds, and then magically stay there, without any effort on the lucky person’s part. When you see the admirable “finished product” of success, health, happiness, you don’t see all of the “behind the scenes” of blood, sweat, and tears, research, desire, tough decisions, and prioritizing that it took to get there, and then also, to keep it.
Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.
Wow! Well said, Kelly! This is spot on.
Wow! This is spot on, Kelly.
Thank you, Gail. <3
I had a similar revelation yesterday.
I went to visit my parents and I was having a discussion about weight and fitness with my mom. My mother – 79 – is a personal trainer and has been in the fitness industry for 45+ years. She was showing me some isometric exercises that would be helpful for me, since my work keeps me chained to a chair many hours a day. At one point, she was demonstrating a wall sit, and made the comment, “I can’t sit down very far because my knees won’t allow it anymore.” That offhand comment hit me like a ton of bricks.
What do you mean you can’t do it? That’s impossible. You’ve always been able to do that, and many other physical feats that I’ll never achieve in this lifetime. That’s when I realized that she WORKS at it. She didn’t just land in her profession fully capable and ready to roll. Even at 79 she is still exploring and learning new techniques, which is especially important when the body doesn’t function like it did when she was 29. Her clients are (mostly) in her age group, so she keeps evolving her skills and her knowledge to support them. And she has no plans to retire. As long as there are seniors that need guidance, she’ll be on the job. I have to say, she’s a great role model!
How lucky you are to have such an inspiring role model, Kelly! Thank you for sharing. <3