I cannot say that Mashable's list of The 35 Fittest People in Tech surprised me. After all, it takes the same drive and focus to achieve your mental and physical goals. Just as you're not going to become the co-founder of Foursquare simply by dreaming, you will not lose those last ten pounds by sitting on your arse. The people on the list work at tech monsters including Google, Facebook and Microsoft, so I have to ask: what's your excuse again?
Now, go out there and GET IT!
Monday, August 27, 2012
Monday, August 20, 2012
Monday Motivator: BIRTHDAY EDITION
I've never been big on New Years' Eve. I feel the expectations and hype are too high and the resulting night is typically a letdown. In fact, my most eventful NYE in recent memory was with my sister's friends in St. Louis, where many of the pictures looked like this:
So where am I going with this? And why am I talking about NYE in August? Because today is my birthday - my personal New Year. Included with the hype of the new year is the expectation to make XXXX year the "best year yet." I'm never quite recovered from my post-spending/gifting/gifted/food hangover (Christmas) enough to make a list of things I want to change about myself in the upcoming year. But birthdays - birthdays are the best time to evaluate my life and see where/who I want to be in a year.
24 was a great year. I took charge of my physical health and am starting 25 in the best physical condition I've been in ever, really. It was also the year that I started exploring new continuing education opportunities (I took an online grant writing class and have signed up for an HTML class this September) and took an interest in reading (Find me on Goodreads). It was also the first year I felt that I well-managed seeing my friends post-college. These were all things I had struggled with (and from what I can tell, most people do) when transitioning from college to the "real world."
But, being a total cliché here, I think 25 will be even better. Using the things I did at 24 to better myself, I intend to position myself as a better athlete, employee, student, and most importantly, friend. To give you abridged version, I will be writing more, learning new skills (computer and otherwise), and spending more time with my friends and family. Updates on how that goes to come next year - for now, just let me celebrate my first day of being mid-twenties (ACK).
So where am I going with this? And why am I talking about NYE in August? Because today is my birthday - my personal New Year. Included with the hype of the new year is the expectation to make XXXX year the "best year yet." I'm never quite recovered from my post-spending/gifting/gifted/food hangover (Christmas) enough to make a list of things I want to change about myself in the upcoming year. But birthdays - birthdays are the best time to evaluate my life and see where/who I want to be in a year.
24 was a great year. I took charge of my physical health and am starting 25 in the best physical condition I've been in ever, really. It was also the year that I started exploring new continuing education opportunities (I took an online grant writing class and have signed up for an HTML class this September) and took an interest in reading (Find me on Goodreads). It was also the first year I felt that I well-managed seeing my friends post-college. These were all things I had struggled with (and from what I can tell, most people do) when transitioning from college to the "real world."
But, being a total cliché here, I think 25 will be even better. Using the things I did at 24 to better myself, I intend to position myself as a better athlete, employee, student, and most importantly, friend. To give you abridged version, I will be writing more, learning new skills (computer and otherwise), and spending more time with my friends and family. Updates on how that goes to come next year - for now, just let me celebrate my first day of being mid-twenties (ACK).
Monday, August 13, 2012
Monday Motivator
"The best years of your life are the ones in which you decide your problems are your own. You do not blame them on your mother, the ecology, or the president. You realize that you control your own destiny." - Albert Ellis
It has taken me a long time to learn this, as I'd like to think it does with everyone. If you are not happy with the way your life is going, do something about it. Choose a new career path, start working out, volunteer for a local charity. I do realize there are people in this world with challenges they have no control over. But if the challenges in your life are ultimately by choice - change it. You have the power to better yourself and your life.
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Happy Saturday to the 4x100 Team!
Seriously, how fantastic is our 4x100m team? And setting a new record? Well done, ladies; you deserve to have a great Saturday.
Image via
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Girl Power of Olympic Proportions
I have been keeping a close eye on the 2012 Olympics, not just because of Nathan Adrian, but because of all the incredibly talented female athletes who are competing in the games. Watching Kerri Lee Walsh Jennings and Misty May-Treanor tear it up on the volleyball court or Allyson Felix gun it in the 200m is nothing short of inspiring*. But here is my problem: not all women agree with me on this. I’m not one to pout when I don’t get my way (OK, sometimes I do, but that’s usually involving my family or boyfriend), I just don’t understand why so many average non-Olympic females have become catty about this year's female athletes. In the Self article, Why Focus on Olympians’ Looks Misses the Point, Robyn Silverman, Ph.D., a body image expert and author discusses why women do this. She says "there is a tendency to want to cut people down… We try to cut them down to make them more like us.”
But ladies, COME ON. These women workout 6 days a week for hours at a time to be on top of their game – they have made this their lives for the past 4+ YEARS. We should be focusing on their overall performance, not their appearance. This cattiness may be the cause for the lack of female athlete endorsements, as well. A University of Delaware article discusses a study conducted in which “Ads that focused on athletes’ attractiveness often elicited negative responses from female participants.” Are we that intimidated by women who are at the top of their physical level? If I had a daughter, I would much rather she look up to Kerri Lee and Misty May than Kim Kardashian.
And yes, I will be the first to admit that I have days when I feel physically inadequate. But I go for a run and feel better because I DO WHAT I CAN. We need to keep in mind that if we work hard, we can reach our ideal fitness levels. And above all, we need to stop comparing ourselves to other women. "The only person you'll ever have to be better than is the person you were yesterday." I spent a few minutes looking up who said this (to no avail), because it is so true. It's true for all of us.
*Note: I wrote those post before I knew all three women had received gold medals for their performances, as I've been avoiding Olympic outcomes until I can watch the games at night. BOOM.
But ladies, COME ON. These women workout 6 days a week for hours at a time to be on top of their game – they have made this their lives for the past 4+ YEARS. We should be focusing on their overall performance, not their appearance. This cattiness may be the cause for the lack of female athlete endorsements, as well. A University of Delaware article discusses a study conducted in which “Ads that focused on athletes’ attractiveness often elicited negative responses from female participants.” Are we that intimidated by women who are at the top of their physical level? If I had a daughter, I would much rather she look up to Kerri Lee and Misty May than Kim Kardashian.
And yes, I will be the first to admit that I have days when I feel physically inadequate. But I go for a run and feel better because I DO WHAT I CAN. We need to keep in mind that if we work hard, we can reach our ideal fitness levels. And above all, we need to stop comparing ourselves to other women. "The only person you'll ever have to be better than is the person you were yesterday." I spent a few minutes looking up who said this (to no avail), because it is so true. It's true for all of us.
*Note: I wrote those post before I knew all three women had received gold medals for their performances, as I've been avoiding Olympic outcomes until I can watch the games at night. BOOM.
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