Reason #2 to Love My Body: Because It's Capable
I could give you a list a mile long detailing all of the things that I can't do. I can't squat with good form is the first that comes to mind. I can't stick to my macros for more than a week. I can't keep my house clean. I can't put my phone down for more than a few minutes without checking it. I can't survive without Starbucks lattes. Molly's task today was to identify something that I excel at. And I couldn't think of a thing without discounting it. Yes, I'm good at organization. And I'm enthusiastic. I'm even pretty good at deadlifts. But, for each one that popped into my head, I thought to myself, "no...I'm really not THAT good at that." And is it true that there might be others that are better than me? Absolutely. I'm not the best organizer (but I do actually think I might be the best one that I know). I'm not the MOST enthusiastic all the time. And I know lots of women who can outdeadlift me. But, NONE of that means that I'm not capable of doing those things and doing them well. And I'm not the only one I know who downplays my own abilities.
This discounting of our capabilities is something that we have learned from our youth. Learning from childhood that the result is much more important than the journey has lead to a generation of quick-fixers. We seem to want the end result without the hard work required to accomplish it. Somewhere along the way, we lost sight of the countless lessons of the journey. The journey forces us to learn hard work, dedication, commitment, and perseverance. And, maybe most importantly, it teaches us how to fail and subsequently overcome that failure. When we continually look for the easiest path, we shortchange ourselves and our future. As a result, we've lost sight of (or never learned) what we are CAPABLE of. And we are capable of so much more than weight loss surgery and watching Dr. Oz to find out about today's quick fix. We are capable of overcoming fear. We are capable of making good choices. We are capable of being good role models for the younger generation.
We are strong and so much more than just capable.
Look beyond what is ordinary and mundane in yourself, embrace your failure, and look to the extraordinary and let yourself shine.
that is one of my favorite graphics.
ReplyDeleteMine too!!! It reminds me that it's ok to fail.
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