Feeling Healthy vs. “Feeling Healthy”
(confusing title, i know, bear with me)
There seems to be an idea floating around that taking good care of yourself, regardless of the influences around you, is inherently a positive thing (it is) However, we are all unfortunately faced with unavoidable pressures that might skew your perspective on your own progress and well-being. How can you overcome those hurdles and truly absolve yourself of any guilt or shame?
A very prominent example in my own life is fitness influencers. I have been lifting weights for about a year now, but I will be the first to admit that, for the first 7 or so months of that time, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. I was so set on developing a sense of independence that I was too scared to find myself taking the plunge into intimidating, albeit helpful, sources of information that certainly would have given me the right ideas about where and how to achieve the strength I was looking for; at the same time, seeing Instagram reels of people that are way more muscular than you and probably go out on way more dates than you and can assumedly eat whatever they want can be intimidating for everyone, not just beginners. In a way, shielding yourself from whatever might demotivate you is a good idea, in theory.
As per the title, “feeling healthy” is sort of a double entendre. Sure, while you might not be Baj on the stairmaster at level 9 for an hour every day, a lot of us only “feel” unhealthy because we’re holding ourselves up to an unrealistic standard that applies solely to other people. That’s why going to the gym is so intimidating; “it doesn’t matter that I added 5 lbs to my reps this week, that guy over there with calcium cannons could probably do it with one arm. I should just give up.”
But you wanna know the awesome little change you can make to completely overhaul your entire approach?
How do YOU feel?
Comparison is the thief of joy. Whatever path you decide to set yourself on, it should be optimized in such a way that promotes the most amount of personal growth, completely and utterly independent from how anyone else looks or feels about you.
Cutting weekly fast food out of my diet, for example, was not due to fear of being judged by people around me (I mean, just look at how profitable these places are, everyone gets fast food all day, every day) but because I noticed the small changes that led to long-term habits. I started to feel less sluggish all the time, my cravings started to disappear, and my physical health just seemed to improve itself as I became more conscious of what I was consistently eating. (again, not a doctor here) It could also mean taking care to regulate a sleep routine! Or, making more time during a busy semester to limit your screen time and pay a bit more attention to studying! All of these things, if done correctly, can be considered “healthy.” Your internal health will only make its way to the surface, after all.
As with the fitness example, there will always be people who simply do things better. Your job is to make sure that your progress isn’t halted because of how you might look compared to other people in a room. Once you restructure your mindset about what YOU are capable of, sooner or later those intrusive thoughts start to get quieter. And again, I’ll admit that they really don’t go away, or at least they haven’t yet. Some people use negative force as motivation, which is fine, but centering your mind around your own positives can be even better!
Signing off,
sam jenkins