| Do you think athletes are other people?
Believe me, I understand. In fact, as reasonably athletic as I consider myself now, I wasn’t always. I definitely grew up thinking an athlete was a certain kind of person—definitely not me. As a chubby, unathletic grade-schooler, I was picked last for every team, and often beaten up after school (for reals—this was New York). I was clumsy and awkward. I was scared of sports till I was in my 20s. But not only did I come to love movement and sports specifically as part of a healthy, happy life—I came to see myself as an athlete, in a very different way. As an athlete of life. A performer in the game of living. Because life is a demanding sport, an event requiring lots of energy. That perspective changed everything for me. It changed how I fuel and nourish myself, and how I feel about that. And I’ve seen it change that for other people, too. When I say you can be an athlete of your life, I don’t mean you’re going to do competitive sports, join a team, or exercise in any particular way. Let alone compete in triathlons or the Olympics. It’s a broader way of thinking about yourself, and life, and total self-care. You see, athletes are the best of anyone at knowing how their self-care—everything they put in, on and around them—influences their performance and their goals. And they’re the best at living like it. Athletes prioritize self-care and fuel and nourishment, because they know it matters to what matters. To athletes, self-care, performance, and life are ALL ONE THING. They know that they can’t just address one piece, but must cover all the bases as an integrated whole. They can’t just focus on food, or just their physical training. They have to integrate those, and also rest, recovery, sleep, and stress management. They know that they can add performance enhancing tweaks—bells and whistles—but if they don’t get their training, food and rest right, those things won’t do squat. They also know that their best return on investment is in their bodies (and minds). The thing is, all of that is true for you and me too. Most people just don’t tend to think this way. But we can. And doing so is incredibly empowering and compelling. It deeply moves you to act in certain ways—and to experience your action as a choice. THAT kind of super-powerful motivation is one of the core outcomes of my approach. (Along with clarity, ease, and a savvy wisdom about foundational pieces of self-care. So you focus on exactly what you need now, without distractions. And get the energy and body you want—and really start to enjoy the ride.) What I want for people—and provide—is that you learn (and apply!) a lot about food and movement and stress and rest. You fill in info gaps that tripped you up. You get how it all works together—and how to PUT it together in your life to get the strong, lean, healthy, energized body you want. (You need that, if you want to reach your highest goals. The world needs you fueled and nourished—and it’s hard to make an impact if you’re exhausted—or worse, not here.) But the most foundational and transformative piece is the inspiration to USE all that you learn. To apply it happily. By choice. That’s where the rubber meets the road. Because let’s face it, information alone hasn’t really done the job for most people—has it? Of course, you do need to learn what you need. But by itself that’s not enough—unless you have the powerfully cultivated, sustained impulse to give that to yourself. To give yourself what you need. What THAT takes is seeing yourself and life with new eyes, making a deep connection between what you do for your body, who you are, and what you’re here for. What you’re fueling. The body you want and need will come from that, and which makes healthy living a natural, joyful choice. TRY THIS EXERCISE: Also, I have another blog post on the site that goes to this: https://robynlandis.net/investing-in-your-body/
Robyn
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