Women's Health    

"Perhaps it's my destiny to be fat..."



Peter Shankman shares his epiphany

See the good in yourself


Good morning from NYC, where yesterday, I had an epiphany.

I went to the doctor late last week for my physical. I had to stand on one of those demon scales, the ones that send electrical impulses up your body to measure your body fat. I'd rather put out a campfire with my face than have to stand on that scale, but there I was.

Anyhow, my body fat percentage stayed the same, but my muscle mass went up another two pounds, which means I'm continuing to gain muscle from boxing and swimming and all the other things I do to control my ADHD.

READ MORE: The value of your time = The value of your mental health

The doctor and I were talking, and we mentioned how being somewhat heavy runs in my family. I said, "so I'm destined to be fat?" He laughed, and the conversation moved on.

But then yesterday, I was at the boxing gym, and was talking to one of the other boxers there. As I was jumping rope next to him, he mentioned that my shoulders were getting much broader than he's ever seen them.

I told him about the doctor's visit, and then I said "Well, if it's my destiny to be fat, then damn it, I'm going to be fat and muscular!"

And right there, the light dawned... When most of us look in the mirror, we rarely see the good stuff. The good stuff is drowned out by the bad stuff, which is always a lot louder. But it's the good stuff that we should be focusing on. The scale doesn't lie. I've gained more muscle mass in the past 24 months than I have all my life, but all I see is the stomach, or the chins. But OTHERS NEVER SEE US AS POORLY AS WE DO! OTHERS SEE THE GOOD IN US MUCH MORE THAN WE DO! Why don't we ever see it in ourselves?

Perhaps we all need to take a step back and change the way we look at things. Maybe it's all about seeing the good stuff a little more, and listening the bad things a little less.

Just a thought.

Love,

-Peter



Other articles by Peter Shankman


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  • The value of your time = The value of your mental health

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    Your mental health and your time are closely related. If you're constantly running around complaining that you don't have enough time, that has a negative effect on every aspect of your life. If there's an easy way to fix that, I can't imagine anything in the world more worth the spending of a few extra dollars. read more »
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  • What to do When You're Having "One of those Weeks"...

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    Ever have a truly horrible week, where within the first 12 hours, you know it's not going to get any better? Yeah. That's me this week. read more »
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    We don't know how strong we are until we're called on to be that strong. We don't know our power until we stand up to a bully, until we stop caring what others think of us, until we demand better service, until we raise our prices, until we stop allowing ourselves to be taken advantage of. read more »
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