Reflecting our culture’s obsession for the pretty and the attractive, the interviewing host quizzed the strikingly beautiful news anchorwomen, “What do you do to maintain your well-toned shape?”
Without missing a beat she replied, “I do something that makes me sweat every day.”
It seemed a bit strange to hear this sophisticated professional talk about her sweat! Sweat seems to have a bad connotation, associated with uncomfortable situations, unpleasant odor, embarrassing predicaments, or distressing dilemmas.
I think Ann Margaret joked that “women don’t sweat, they glisten”!
Sweat can be contradictory…..
We’ve all heard, “Never let them see you sweat”. We don’t want to appear weak or needy, in a compromising position. We want to appear that we are in control.
But then again, there are positive benefits for the perspiration brought on by the “heat”.
Physical need – We need to sweat exercising for strength, balance, maintaining weight. Healthy sweat can get rid of toxins, building toned muscles that might atrophy if not exercised.
Emotional need – If we didn’t sweat in the learning curve, we never would push ourselves to learn new things, like riding a bike, playing golf, or writing a book.
Personal need -We need to confront the sweat in personal situations, taking chances of being in a position of being rejected. If we are afraid to reach out to people, we would lose out on that first date, or stay stuck in the same circle of friends.
Neale Donald Walsch puts it so well: “Life begins at the edge of your comfort zone”. That’s the uncomfortatble, unattractive, smelly part of life that some of us avoid.
But that news anchorwoman had it right.
Challenge yourself to do something “sweaty” each day, physically, emotionally, Take a chance. Be a risk taker. Break out of your comfort zone. Push yourself and you’ll be surprised at what you can achieve with a little sweat.
What kind of risk taker are you? What makes you sweat?
