I LOVE the Olympics.  I love the Olympic Athletes because for many of those athletes they are doing this out of pure passion for their sport.  These aren’t basketball or baseball players who are making MILLIONS of dollars.  For most athletes participating in the Olympics, they have trained for sports that do not receive mainstream attention so that means no mainstream sponsorship dollars and a true labor of love.

For some of the women they are participating in sports that are traditionally all men such as: weightlifting, boxing, and wrestling.  These women have it even harder because sponsors may shy away from sponsoring women who do not fit the media-approved standard for athletic women.

These women are not competing for Instagram Likes, Facebook Likes, or validation badges.  They are competing because they are passionate about their sports and athletic goals.

I came across this amazing quote from Helen Maroulis whose improbable victory in Women’s Wrestling was upstaged by the Ryan Lochte incident.  Just to give some perspective: Helen Maroulis defeated Saori Yoshida who was the Usain Bolt of Women’s Wrestling.  She was 3x Olympic Champion and 13 time consecutive World Champion.

It’s Not about the Applause

When she was asked if she was bummed about the media focusing on the Ryan Lochte scandal and not her amazing upset, she said she didn’t do it for the media attention.  She was not there for the applause and for the validation badge.  She was there because she had trained hard and that she was enough to win.  She didn’t need their applause.

That resonated with me and sharing my own fitness journey on social media and what I see from others.  My why is not about the likes and trying to get validation for what I’m doing.  It’s about being open and transparent  because in talking to women OFF OF THE INTERNET  a lot of women are dealing with similar issues.

Living Online

I like social media and I like online community but lately I have been aware of the dangers of “Living Online”.  I do not believe in sharing all of my life online because there are some areas of my life which are sacred and aren’t for public consumption.  I also don’t believe that everybody needs to know everything.

We all know about keyboard warriors and people who are talking tough online but don’t have much to say in person.  I think there’s also a danger  in the health and fitness realm of living online where people are sharing every meal prep, every “clean” meal they eat, every protein shake they’ve ever made, every workout they do, and every pound they gain or lose.

As I have said before, the difference between real athletes and people who train for the mirror is stark. Real athletes may occasionally share their journey but it’s not constant because they aren’t doing it for validation or for applause.  Their validation and applause comes with the results.

Helen Maroulis didn’t just train for 21 Days or 6 weeks for her victory. It took her 4 years (she didn’t make the London Games) She didn’t document every workout, training session, or boring meal to show she was working hard and worthy of success. As she said, she wasn’t doing it to find self-worth and validation in a medal.  She already had that.

Determine whether sharing your journey online is right for you and if you’re doing it for the right reasons

Earlier this year I wrote a blog post about whether sharing your struggles with weight or body image was helpful or harmful.  Nothing makes me more angry and annoyed when someone calling themselves a fitness coach posts pictures of themselves and then proceeds to call themselves fat.  In most cases the person isn’t fat at all.

I recognize it as body dysmorphia which is a very serious issue in the fitness community.  Inevitably after those posts come the comments reassuring the person that they aren’t fat, they look great, etc.  I no longer respond to these types of posts because I don’t find them healthy and I don’t wish to encourage someone’s constant need for approval and attention.

I would encourage YOU to determine whether or not sharing your own fitness journey is right for you and whether or not you’re doing it for the right reasons.

I have learned that I am not interested in taking sweaty selfies every day or showing video what I do for a workout because it’s my time and to be honest, a lot of the time I’m so into what I’m doing that   taking pictures or video is the last thing on my mind.

It works for others but not for me and that’s okay.  Sometimes I learn from people who show videos for their workouts and I think that’s great.  I’m not saying I will NEVER take a gym selfie or videos of my workout, but it’s not something that I’m interested in doing regularly for me.  I used to feel pressure about doing it since others were but determined that it’s not my thing.

Not Looking for self-worth in the victory

I didn’t come here to win a gold medal to find something within myself or some peace within myself.  I found that self worth before I stepped on the mat.  

This part of Helen Maroulis’ statement is what really hit home for me.  So many times we set weight loss goals, fitness goals, and such because we are looking for approval, self-worth, a reason to love ourselves, confidence, etc.

If we do not already have the self-worth, self love, and confidence when we start,  we will not be successful because if our minds are not right and we do not  have self belief, then we will self sabotage our efforts or we will get “there” (as I did) and find that nothing much has changed.

It all becomes an exercise in futility.

We end up feeling empty because the applause, the approval the likes, and the validation badge from others is not enough.

Helen Maroulis believes that the reason she won Gold was because she wasn’t looking for a reason to believe in herself or a reason to feel worthy.  She already had that inside and she believes that is what propelled her to victory.  I  think she is right because she overcame some really big odds to win.  That doesn’t happen by luck in her sport.

I believe that if we have the self worth, self love, and confidence when we start then we WILL have the victory because we will know that we are worthy to achieve our goals.

We will love ourselves enough to not put ourselves down if we have a setback or punish ourselves if we make a mistake.

We have the belief in ourselves and our abilities to keep going even when we don’t think we are making any progress.

We are not looking for approval,validation, and attention from others.  I loved this e-mail I received this week:

To have a healthy, life-long relationship with exercise, you need to get to a mental place where you view it as basic body hygiene, the same way you view taking a shower or brushing your teeth.

Think about how you feel after finishing a toothbrushing session. Do you congratulate yourself for your dedication, and walk around the house proudly displaying your wet toothbrush for all to see?

No. Brushing your teeth isn’t something to be particularly proud of. It’s the minimum standard of dental hygiene. You do it because the consequences of not doing it are clear: bad breath in the short term, cavities and gum disease in the long term. And not brushing makes you feel kind of gross.Get your Mind Right!  Mindset Matters Most!