Selfies: They're everywhere…but why are we encouraging them?
Everyone has their opinion on what social media has done to our brains and to our social skills. But one thing I think we all can get behind is a gal who’s feeling herself today because she just crushed a workout, got her hair done, or landed a new promotion, has earned the right to share a selfie smiling at the world. Why are we so supportive of this? Because a shocking 2% of women say they find their bodies sexy today. Wait, what? And about that same small percentage say they’re pleased with how they look. These numbers are insane, and we’re on a mission to help change them.
A few months back we started brainstorming ideas for a new campaign we wanted to run at 1031 Fitness. We wanted it to be more than just fitness and weight loss. It’s incredible the amount of people who sit down with us on their first day at the gym and describe their goals using some type of numbers. We hear, “I need to lose 15-20 pounds!” at least once a week. But what we’ve pondered is that if you lose that 15-20 pounds, how will that impact how you feel? Will you feel good about yourself? If the answer is yes, than you’re actually chasing the feeling of “feeling good about yourself”, not the actual 15-20 pounds of weight loss. You can feel good about yourself in tons of other ways. One of them is to simply just work out and feel accomplished. This is why we highly suggest 1031 Fitness as your home. We want to dig deeper than just the number on the scale.
All of the women shown above weigh 154 pounds.
In economics utility is defined as a measure of happiness. Economics, in layman’s terms, is the study of how to make the most people happy. This is what the world, the country, the state, and ultimately each individual is chasing: happiness. We all want to be happy. To reach a 10 on our utility scale. When it comes to the actual scale we weigh in on however, this number doesn’t always reflect utility. Yet, most people are using the scale number as their utility number. As their measure of happiness. You’ve never thought about it that way, have you? It’s a scary thought. If you were an alien who moved here from some foreign land and saw that this stupid little thing that everyone stands on is essentially controlling their happiness everyday, you’d probably say, “Get me outta here. I wanna go home!”.
Before writing this article, I shot a text over to a client who I know has struggled with the “I want to lose 15-20 pounds” effect her whole life and just recently made some realizations herself on how devastating it can be to an individual’s happiness. Here is what she said:
“It has taken me a long time to worry less about the number on the scale and more about just doing the best I can to live a healthier lifestyle, be active, and self-sufficient. I’ve spent 6+ years trying to lose ‘that next 15-20 pounds” whether I really needed to or not. Recently, I’ve decided I’m tired of that damn scale number never being good enough. Well, I just decided it is good enough and I don’t want to be 80 and still not happy with a dumb number. None of us are getting out of this life on this side of the ground, so having fun, living life, and being the healthiest I can be within that has made me feel a lot more free and relaxed.”
In the last year, this client has lost over 30 pounds. She’s done a phenomenal job of moving better, eating better, and losing that weight she originally wanted to burn off. As you can see from her quote though, in her mind, she was never happy with herself. I’ve texted with her on weekends over the last few weeks and she’s been enjoying herself…having some drinks…having fun…and being happy with life…increasing her utility. I’m ecstatic that she’s made the decision to stop focusing on the number on her scale. (Side-note: most of her decisions are still healthier choices, even though she’s decided to focus on “fun” and “living life”. I’m big on the 80/20 rule.)
It’s okay for your goal to be to lose weight. We 100% support that. But the scale actually doesn’t do that for you, and it can be a hinderance throughout the process. So, instead, we’re encouraging you to TAKE BETTER SELFIES. Take them at the gym. Take them while you meal prep. Take them when you’re running around playing spike ball outside with your friends. And, definitely, take them every 3-4 months to truly show yourself what kind of progress you’ve made. Let’s shift the focus toward things that generate happiness across every aspect of life. Imagine a world where everyone wakes up in the morning and sends smiling selfies to all their friends instead of stepping on a scale and frowning. Because, let’s be honest, the scale may be the worst invention ever.
-AT