Who here doesn’t take compliments well? *throws hand in the air*
Yep. Me. I’m one of those people who will receive a compliment and then say something contrary or shrug it off. I’ll explain it away. For instance; if I give the coach my time or my rounds after the workout and they say “Good job” instead of saying thank you I’ll say something like “Eh, well. It wasn’t that much.” Or “Eh, well, it took me forever.” or “Eh, well… it was scaled.”
Since I’ve started at 13 Stripes people have been noticing my transformation. Family, friends, my 13 Stripes family. I’ve been receiving many compliments about how I look. That they remember what I looked like back in August and are astonished and proud of the work I’ve put in and what I look like now. Since I’m still that fat girl on the inside my face feels flushed and I just say “You think?” or “Really?” or “I don’t know. I’m trying.” That causes the person giving the compliment to repeat it and confirm what they’re saying in hopes that I’ll believe them.
Listen, I make sure to give out the compliments like candy because I know people really like to hear good things about themselves AND what I say is true. I don’t just say things willy nilly…. I really make sure to let someone know when they have a nice dress on or if their haircut looks great or if their clothing is falling off of them and they look amazing. (I’m hoping there is one particular person reading this so she can buy new clothes. haha!)
What I need to learn to do, and it is definitely a work in progress, is to say THANK YOU when someone tells me I look good or congratulates me for the work I did in the WOD. When we are recognized for our work it spurns us on to continue. That little piece of praise makes us continue to do better. It pushes us past our fears, past our insecurities and it gives us a little leg up in our uphill climb.
This has been a battle for me. Between my mind and my body most days I’m not sure who will win until I get done with my workout at the gym and I can once again say that my body was victorious. Are there days when my mind wins out? Sure. We all have those days where we literally just don’t feel like it…. but I make sure those days are very few and far between because I know that I have work to do to better myself and I want to work as much as possible. The victory after the battle is when the coach says “Good job!” or I go home to my wife who asks me about my workout and when I tell her what I did she just looks at me in awe and tells me how amazing she thinks I am. When my son and his fiancé tell me that they’re proud of me… that just warms my heart. It’s a gift when someone compliments you. We must learn to take those gifts.
I have a gift for each of you. Come work out with me. Join me at 13 Stripes and you’ll hear praise and positivity on constant repeat. We all need that, don’t we?
See you at the Box!
#fromcouchtofitness #mystandardsmyway #attagirl #attaboy #praise #complimentsrock