Who's the happiest one of all?
In today's constant scroll culture, we’re seeing countless split-second images and quotes each day that can leave us with a lingering not-so pleasant taste our mouths. “I feel totally amazing about my own life!” said very few people who have ever spent even ten minutes looking at posts from celebrities, influencers, or even sometimes friends. And while I limit the people I “follow” to friends, students, and accounts that don’t mess with my mood, sometimes the ick still creeps in. Cue the advertisements and “sponsored” posts.
Yesterday I came across a post from a fit, gorgeous, bikini-clad twenty-something year old with a quote something along the lines of , “Don’t stop working out until you are happy with what you see in the mirror.” Now, I don’t try to judge; we all have our own motivations and desires for approval, recognition, “likes.” But as someone who works out with women all day long, the post--which I never asked to see in the first place--was starting to make me irritated.
“Don’t stop working out until you are happy with what you see in the mirror.” Sure, maybe a message like that is supposed to highlight the importance of not giving up on your goals, to push yourself to exercise even when there are times you’d rather make every excuse not to do it. I get that. But looking a little deeper, I can’t but help feel like a quote like that is really misleading and off-base on several levels.
First, there’s the idea that working out has an end to it. The notion that once we reach a certain physique or the right body fat % , we get to throw in the towel is simply wrong. Creating a healthy lifestyle is about taking care of our bodies for the long run, finding activities that we enjoy and can sustain.
Secondly, If we think we are going to be able to arrive at this place called happiness based on what is in the mirror, we’re in for a lot of disappointment. Our bodies change, we age. We might lose 5 kgs, but if our happiness is just based on the mirror, it’s likely we’ll start noticing that stray grey hair, the lines around our eyes, and a myriad of other things to blame our unhappiness on. We’ll constantly be chasing an ever-illusive idea of happiness we can never allow ourselves to enjoy.
Instead of working out our physical body until we are “happy” , why not put in the work on the inside so that we can try to be grateful, joyful, and accepting of where we are now-- not some day in the future that never comes.
For me, happiness is dancing with you. It’s looking into the smiling faces of my students and connecting to one another rather than giving in to our own self-critical stares in the mirror.
What’s your happiness?
Keep movin'!
xx,
Katie
...誰是世界上最開心的人呢？
在現今這個無止盡滑手機的世代，每天我們都看到數不清的照片與引言，這些我們眼睛秒速吸收的內容，卻十分容易在我們的心中留下一股不好的感受。只要你花十分鐘滑不論是名人、網紅、或者甚至是朋友的貼文，看完之後幾乎沒有人可以大聲地說：「我覺得我的人生很美好。」 即使我只追蹤我的朋友們、學生們、還有一些不會影響我情緒的帳號，有時候這個不如人的感受，仍然會偷偷摸摸地潛入我的心中。 即使是一些廣告或是贊助的貼文，也是有同樣的效果的。
昨天我滑到一篇貼文是來自一個身材姣好、漂亮、20幾歲、身穿比基尼的女生，下面貼著這一句話：『不要停止健身，直到妳滿意鏡中所看到的自己。』我並不想批評，每個人都有屬於自己的動機，也想要別人認可、同意與按讚的渴望。 但是因為我一整天都和不同的女性一起運動健身，這個突然出現在我面前的貼文開始讓我覺得有點反感。
『不要停止健身，直到妳滿意鏡中所看到的自己。』
當然，這樣的言論應該是在強調不放棄目標的重要性，鼓勵自己在有空的時候持續的運動而不是找藉口不運動。這我了解，但是再深入地去看這一句話，我不自覺地認為像這樣子的言論其實是非常容易讓人誤會，而且在不同的層面上都傳達了錯誤的訊息。
首先，這個想法背後的涵義：只要你達到你想要的體態、目標的體脂肪，你就可以不用再運動了！建立健康的生活型態為了能長期照顧好我們身體，同時找到適合自己並享受的運動方式，讓我們能夠持續地落實。若是我們的快樂取決於鏡中的樣貌，我們只是為自己準備更多失望的機會。我們身體是會改變的、我們是會老化的。也許我們瘦了5公斤，但是如果我們的快樂是建築在鏡中自己的樣貌，很快地我們就會注意到那根直直的白髮、眼周的細紋、還有一堆數不清讓你不開心的缺點。 我們的一生當中會持續地追逐這個難以捉摸的幸福想法，但是我們卻永遠覺得不夠，所以也永遠無法享受幸福。 與其運動直到我們對於我們的身材滿意，何不在運動的時候，試著感恩、享受並接受妳現在的樣子呢？
對我而言，幸福就是能夠和你們一起跳舞、是看到學生們微笑的臉龐和互動的眼神，而不是我們照鏡子時那樣犀利與批判的眼神。
妳的幸福是什麼呢？
繼續前進！
愛你的 Katie
( Anna Liang 譯 )