Crossfitter.
Gymnast.
Yogi.
Powerlifter.
Gym rat.
Cyclist.
Hiker.
Bodybuilder.
Kickboxer.
Dancer.
Rock climber.
Titles we inevitably work very hard to earn. To legitimize. This is no easy badge to wear. We likely have invested hundreds of hours in our activity of choice to become known as and feel worthy of a title like these. We have achieved a level of mastery above many of our peers or coworkers. We have seen results in our bodies and minds and now trust that the activity is a worthwhile expenditure of our limited resources.
It’s probable you have begun to self-identify as one of the names above. However, the best form of a fitnessy-label comes from the outside. Someone else calls you a Yogi, so you must be one. It’s THAT evident. Or you spend 2 hours per day in a dark weight room, lifting as heavy as you can, wearing your hoodie and taking swigs of the latest fizzy pre-workout beverage. Someone at work happens to notice your arms seem bigger than before and, “You must work out” is given as the justification for the change. Boom. Verified weightlifter/bodybuilder. Everyone can see the product of your labor right in front of them, bulging out from under those puny sleeves, helpless against the power of your blooming new triceps.
But the final confirmation is the sweetest. This is when a member of the elite labels you as one of their own. The woman with the most poise and grace in the whole class calls you a great dancer. The climber who flashes 5.13’s comments that your beta is infallible. The coach says your improvement with thrusters is the best he’s seen all year from anyone and maybe you should help bring beginners up to speed. Someone with the power to induct you into the marbled halls of the elite has claimed you belong.
Like a variation of ancient coming-of-age traditions, you’ve made it. You killed the lion, drank the cow’s blood, wore the gloves full of bullet ants, and are given this identity.
Accept it with caution.
Yes, you have focused your efforts and resources. Yes, you have realized results. Yes, you have been recognized by a community as a valid participant. But are these positives? These are not objectively negative things. However, assuming an identity based on them is something to handle with great caution. The problem I have with weaving your identity into the activity you enjoy is that it’s a petty representation of who you are. As a person, you are a citizen, a family member, an employee (possibly an employer), a friend, a human. Your depth and beauty and power are vast. Almost incomprehensible.
If your identity is decided by your actions, your worth is measured by your results.
Read that again, and slow down. “If your identity is decided by your actions, your worth is measured by your results.” This is not a system you want to be held to. We have the option of allowing these kinds of social structures to dominate us, or we can reject them. Yes, this is actually an extremely common form of worth-measuring in Western cultures. Your results speak for themselves and justify whatever your actions are. In a nutshell, winning dictates truth.
If you get great results from your fitness activity and that’s palpable to the people in your circle of influence, it must be right/worthwhile/good/true. But what happens when your results aren’t quite as good? When you get an injury or have to take time off? Who are you? The indicators are gone. The old gym swag you wore is out of fashion and now makes you stand out in the wrong way. Your kipping pull-ups look more like a fish out of water than an athlete setting a new PR. The people you used to do the activity with have moved away or now go to that new hip facility you don’t even know about. Where is your identity now?
Okay, okay, maybe this is blown out of proportion for many if not most people who exercise. You may not feel like your identity is indeed dictated by your healthy activities and community associated with them. However, the above rule reigns in more than just the fitness kingdom. It is alive and well in virtually every career setting. Let’s make a quick modification to apply to your career success: If your identity is decided by your actions as a professional, your worth is measured by your professional results. “You’re only as good as your last project.” “The proof is in the numbers.” The career world is results-based and has plenty of phrases to summarize that. As it should be. However, your worth, your value, your intrinsic ability to be known and loved and accepted is not results-based. Succumbing to the rule that you are only worth what you can produce is limiting who you are and what you are capable of. You are not a machine designed to meet output projections. At work or in a gym.
Know that whatever you choose to do, however, you leverage your limited resources, you are not the sum of the results you realize. Your life is not one large return on investment calculation. Be the best yogi, crossfitter, dancer, climber, manager, accountant, nurse practitioner, or retail clerk you can be all the while knowing that any label is just representing something you do, it’s not even close to describing who you are.
Abacus Fitness and Money 