Positive Thinking

Every now and then, I get a thought stuck in my head, and I cannot let it go. It is very similar to when you have a song in your head. You keep humming and humming until either a friend/family member kills you, or until you hear the song on the radio. On a side note, I read a theory that suggests that songs get stuck in our head because we do not hear the end of them. As a result, our brains fixate on the song, until we get closure. How do you get closure? You Google that shit, listen to the song, and then shoot the fucking computer. That's a lie, don't shoot the computer.

So what's stuck in my mind? Psychology. Now as a disclaimer, I am not a psychologist or psychiatrist. So if anyone reading this is one, keep you mouth shut and let me rant. What am I ranting about in particular? The prevailing mindset that I have encountered, lately. As you may or may not know, I am in the process of getting certified as a personal trainer. I happen to have a couple clients that I work with, who are very new to their fitness journey. And for years (decades) exercise was "not who they are". Now in the past week or so, they have started to transform this mindset. They have truly started to commit to their program, with the mindset that they are going to be healthier every day. One issue that we are working to overcome is the idea of discounting. Now as a Jew, I can appreciate a good discount. But in fitness, fuck that. And now I start my rant.

When it comes to fitness, and people who train, I think the mind is the most important issue to address. I've read several articles about this, and I truly believe it is accurate. Especially when someone is new to training, they have two typical thoughts. "This isn't who I am." or "That was good, but .....". So lets start with the concept of identity. Who the fuck says that someone is not about that fitness life? I got news. If you are getting up everyday, taking steps to improve your health, then you bet your sweet ass that you are about that fitness life. Daily exercise or healthy eating might not be who you were, but goddamn if it is not who you are. I think more people fail because they have this idea of themselves. They see what they want, whether it is a certain job, a certain body type, a certain possession, whatever the fuck, and they think that it is "not who they are". They are not the type of person to have/do/say/get whatever the fuck it is that they want. And you know what? Fuck. That.

Take a moment and think about what you want in your life. Go ahead. I'll wait....................You see it? Now what the fuck says you cannot have/be/do that thing? There are some things we cannot do. I will never be a 6'2" basketball player. I can play basketball, but I will never be that tall. I know that. But guess what? I could play basketball every goddamn day, if I wanted. I don't, but I could. We spend so much time thinking about "who we are", that we never think about who we want to be. The only difference between the two? Owning the goddamn role. You want to be about the healthy life? Fuck it, you are. You want to be a "gamer"? Buy a fucking game and be a gamer. Nobody says you have to be good at what you do. You just have to do it. So don't discount your shit, saying "that's not who I am". Fuck that. Own your shit. And that leads me to the next point.

Stop your bullshit discounting! I don't know what the fuck happened to society that everyone is afraid of tooting their own horn. You know what? If you did something great, the show some goddamn pride! Who cares if someone else could have had the same accomplishment? Who cares if it isn't a big deal to someone else? I got news. Unless that fucker is you, you have nobody to compare yourself to. Do you know who my favorite people are to see training? The ones who are clearly out of shape, busting their ass in the hot-ass sun, miserable as fuck. Why? Because those people know what's up. They are the ones that are putting in the hard work. It is ten times more impressive to see someone run 100 feet for the first time in their life, than it is to see a marathon runner run a fucking mile. Why? Because that 100 feet is a far superior accomplishment. But for whatever reason, people feel the need to discount their accomplishments. It's like they are afraid that by being proud, someone will come and ruin their moment. Fuck. That. If you did something, you should be proud as fuck. Your worst day, should still be a day of pride. Even if you get shit on all day, you can at least be proud that you made it through and get to sleep. And if you don't get to sleep, then you should at least be proud that you didn't cut a bitch.

But this again hearkens back to the idea of the psychology. I firmly believe in positive reinforcement and identity. If you identify as being something, regardless of what it is, you will embody that thing. And for everyone saying, "you can't embody a dinosaur", fuck you. If I think I am a dinosaur, then your ass better run. Otherwise I'mma chase you fuckers down and eat you. That's right. I said it. If I decide that I am truly going to identify as a dinosaur, I'mma go Jurassic Park on your candy-ass. Just like I identify as a husband, future father, trainer, business owner, and shit talker. That's who I am, and who I want to be. And you know what? By acknowledging, accepting, and embracing who/what you want to be, life gets a hell of a lot more pleasant. You may suck at being/doing whatever you identify with, but at least you are enjoying that identity.

Likewise, I believe in the positive reinforcement of belief. Believing that you can accomplish that task that you want to. It may not be easy, but neither was potty-training. Think about it. How hard do you think it was to finally trust that you could poop in the big white bowl? It was a helluva lot less convenient, but you got your shit together and you flushed proper. And you know what? You were proud as fuck about that. You didn't think, "Well, my parents have been using the toilet for a bajilion years. Clearly my success means nothing." No. You were proud as fuck. And as well you should have been. I got news, there's no difference between that, and the shit you want to accomplish now. It's just that society has now made everyone afraid to brag.

And so there you have it. My rant is done. I could keep going, but then I might repeat myself more than I already have. And I am too damn young to start repeating myself. And so my final words are this. Whatever the fuck it is that you want to be, be it. If you want to do something, do it. And if you have a success, no matter how big or small, celebrate the shit out of it. And if someone tries to discount or make light of whatever you're doing, tell them to suck it. Then dance as you walk away, harvesting power from the fucks they start giving. And just like that, fucktosynthesis.