Enough Priority-Shaming

After hitting a bit of writer’s block this week, I looked for inspiration in the form of tracking my runs over the past month. I found my pace significantly improved, my heart rate was at a steady rate no matter the distance I ran, and my splits were unchanging instead of becoming progressively slower. I PR’d this weekend (while also injuring my foot), but cutting down my 10K record by 3 minutes feels pretty damn good all the same.

Reflection is important. I thought about how around this time last year, I overslept most days and could barely run a mile in under 12 minutes. Now check out this madness:

Truthfully, working out can suck. It can chomp away hours from your day, make you stinky, and have you seriously feel like you're going to die. More so, it feels like you have to change part of your life, and no one really likes change. Which is why many people will quit. Over 80% of people fail at their New Year’s resolutions, and a lot of those include working out in the new year. I was one of those people. Until this year!

Unfortunately, prioritizing working out, especially in today’s day and age, is taken as all kinds of wrong. We shame people who run the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning (I am one of those haters). “Cardio? F*** cardio.” “Do you even lift, bro?” “We get it, you can’t have carbs because kEtO.” "Who tf works out while they're on vacation?" The critics are everywhere.

That goes for the people who get shamed for NOT working out. “Someone skipped leg day I see.” “You could have a butt if you did squats.” “You don’t like the way you look? Just go to the gym…”

For those of us who have done the long run / gone to the gym over meeting up with friends, you know that you don’t want to neglect your friends. But our priorities are different. And this goes for other interests, too. You want to stay in and watch Netflix because you had a long day at work and want to unwind? That self-care is a priority. You want to catch up on homework instead of getting food with the squad? Your academics are a priority.

Instead of shaming people for having priorities outside of your own, why not understand that? Swap out the “Why the hell are you doing that?” for a “Good for you!” Investing heavily in someone else’s priorities distracts you from your own (unless your priority is being a rude human, then go you). Aside from that, understand that priorities change all the time. Your go-to dinner buddy might decide one day to start investing time into hitting the gym. Celebrate them! Support the news instead of tearing them down with a, “You won’t last.” And if they fail? They may never try again because of what you say.

I’m learning this myself all the time. But if I can recognize and correct the behavior, then you can too. Being kind, particularly when people decide to take control of their health, is just a small way to demonstrate basic human decency. If you are nothing else, nothing at all, at the very least be kind about your pals' change in priorities.

If you want to get started working out and don't know where to start, please reach out!