3.08.2009

3 Quotes Making A Difference in My Life This Week

1. "You are how you move." Tracy Anderson

I've never been one to buy fitness magazines, but I picked up the latest issue of Fitness Rx for Women because Tracy Anderson, trainer for Gwyn Paltrow and the like, is featured on the cover. She says in the article that she doesn't believe in body types. No pear shape or apple shape, etc. She says that you are how you move. Swimmers have swimmer's bodies. Dancers have dancer's bodies. Runners have runner's bodies.

Wow. This is so obvious but it's very empowering. It also explains most succinctly why I have sitter's body. Or reader's body. Or both. Either way, it's good to think about as I move around {or don't} on any given day. With my work, there's lots of driving, writing, reading, computer time...all sitting. I start to feel like Prudence in Once Upon A Potty.
She sat and sat and sat and sat and sat and sat and sat and sat
and sat and sat and sat and sat and sat and sat and sat and
sat and sat and sat and sat and sat and sat and sat and...

Not complaining, just putting pieces together.What I love about it is that it shows just how powerful these things we tell ourselves can be. I've thought a million times: this is just my body type. What if that's just another lie I have told myself? Sure, it would seem that my shape is what it is, but if anyone is going to re-write this little script running in my head, it's got to be me. Particularly since the script is about the only thing that has been running consistently.

***
2. "If it can be done, you can do it. It's a matter of choice." Marian Robinson

Loved this interview with Marian Robinson (the first lady's mom) said about parenting: "We wanted them to have the feeling they can try anything. The saying was, 'If it can be done, you can do it.' It's a matter of choice."

I love that. How many times have I discounted myself before I began. This is more than saying to your children that they can be astronauts. It's telling them to look at what is possible and choosing -active voice- to do the work it takes to get there.

***
3. "Your home is the airport for your life." -Peter Walsh

So true. The runway is looking better around here, but I still have some work to do in baggage claim.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love these. Training for a 10k last year was one of the best things I ever did, and I can't wait to get my body back so I can make it run again. I don't think I've ever felt so accomplished as I did after I realized I had turned a smoker's/sitter's body into a runner's/biker's body.

The two most significant bits of advice I've gotten that turned my life upside down in the best of ways were very much like #2. One, when I was in college and in a rut, Dad said to me almost in passing, "If someone else did it, there's no reason you can't do it too." I don't think I really got it until later, but it's a constant refrain in my mind now.
And two, a professor to whom I'd confessed I didn't think I was smart enough to do a PhD said, "It's not about smart. It's about work." Damned if they weren't both right on the money. I still struggle with giving myself my due, but I'm never paralyzed by fear of failure anymore.
Now get out there and kick some ass!

A's da said...

Wow. Very coo & inspiring x3. Sometimes, my desk feels more like a lost and found. My car is definitely baggage claim. I'm taking this too literally, aren't I?

Donna B. Miller said...

Great quotes. Do you think it's too late for me to get a yoga body? :-)

~ Denise ~ said...

How freeing to even grasp that my body is how I move. Thanks for giving me some new ideas to ponder. ;)

Anonymous said...

oy, i have a sitters body too.

Anonymous said...

And I'll bet I'm the only person who knows who Prudence is, or has recently read that book to one who loved her diaper so......

Sandy, mom of J & M

Anonymous said...

I look like my sister ... (see Margie's comment above)
xo