Have you ever wondered what all of these Fitness activities are REALLY doing for us?? Is it really about strengthening our hearts and our bodies, maintaining weight and living in a flexible well balanced body full of endurance, power and agility? Or is there something else? .....something we don't dare admit to!
We Step, Spin and Dance...walk on Treadmills and climb Stair Climbing machines in the name of cardiovascular health - But - What if 1 calorie was not burned........would we still do it?
We lift weights and pull on rubber tubing in the name of muscular strength and endurance - but would we do it if our bodies did not tone and our muscles did not grow and show?
So I ask - If there was no OBVIOUS VISIBLE physical change to our bodies........would we even bother?
I have analyzed all of this “DEEPLY”, without emotion, but rather with logic. I have talked with people in the gym and bluntly asked them this very question… and have come to the conclusion that all of these Fitness activities are PRIMARILY providing us with a way of fueling, sustaining and stroking our EGO's
and have little to do with the health benefits associated with them.
YES .......there.....I said it.
Now, don't get me wrong, we are all thrilled to get the “health” benefits …. Keeping our hearts healthy, our minds clear and all of the other wonderful benefits exercising brings...............but at the end of the day it's all about what we look like to ourselves and how we look in comparison to others - YUP it’s the EGO!
And, when our efforts in the gym don’t quite satisfy the ego, we implant “things” , suck out “stuff” inject poison into our faces or in some other way see to it that the EGO is completely fueled, sustained and stroked!
· Breast implants - Chest implants - – Lipo-suction – Botox
· Teeth whitening, nail polish, make up, hair color
· Shaving – waxing – plucking
· Pedicures – manicures
· Even the clothes we buy and wear are linked to the EGO in some way - it’s about how we look to ourselves and how we compare ourselves with others……more importantly how we “feel” about ourselves based on all of this.
Of course we want to look and feel good. We want to “fit in”, be part of the “in crowd” – just remember this is all EGO based .I am not suggesting for one minute that we should just stop taking care of ourselves – but rather to be in check with the real psychological motivation behind it all.
See for yourself - Next time you are in the gym - watch people - closely watch them they are either peering at themselves in the mirror (some are even doing little muscle flexing poses) or they are checking out other people who are watching themselves. It’s one big EGO fest!!
“HOW DO I LOOK?”
“DO I LOOK BETTER THAN HIM or HER?”
“HOW MANY PEOPLE HERE ARE LOOKING AT ME OR ARE ATTRACTED TO ME?”
And after all of this – they walk out with the EGO whispering ….. “You’re not perfect enough”
Some of you reading may feel this is cynical…….some may relate on some level…….some are laughing because they have pondered the same question and have observed some of the behaviors I have described here.
I know for myself I struggle to suppress the ego every day and walk through my day doing things from my heart and soul and not out of complete self fulfillment – or EGO feeding. . I know that I want to look good “for me”, as we all say, and keep in mind all of the beautiful aspects of myself as a person – things that have nothing to do with “a six pack” or a waist measurement. I try to be mindful of WHO I am… ALL of me which is much greater than anything I can see in a mirror hanging on a wall.
If I can walk through my day and “show” people who I am rather than allowing them to “assume” who I am, as related to their perception based on what they see when they look at me ,then I have come closer to quieting the EGO and letting myself shine through.
How about YOU?
David
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