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The image above represents hard work and discipline at 5'4" and 108 lbs. The fact that I’m one of probably 100 girls in the country with a back and triceps like that speaks volumes of what we are made of as a nation. 100 disciplined young women in a country of about 40,000,000 females…all I can do is sigh and hope that these images inspire 100 more. Now granted I’m pumped from my workout, plus I'm crunching up my shoulder blades to make my traps pop out like that, but my muscularity represents a principle that I hold very dear: I must pull my own weight. I believe that statement to be true philosophically for both life and my time in the gym. Being able to pull my own weight, for 8-10 reps in the form of pull-ups gives me the Linda Hamilton look from Terminator 2. It also gives me the strength and stamina to work long hours both at my job and other things that require my attention. When I pull my own weight in the business world, I’m able to survive with confidence. Bodybuilding and working out is a representation of my outlook on life. With the exception of people who have thyroid disorders, it is also my opinion that judging people based upon their level of physical fitness should be openly (instead of secretly) taken into consideration in the business world. Now I know that in most 1st world countries, the above statement makes even the one honest lawyer out there salivate with anticipation of a discrimination lawsuit. But I can’t help myself in judging (mainly young) people based on their level of fitness because it speaks volumes of their discipline and their desire to rise above. If an obese woman and a fit woman both walk into my office and I’m the HR manager, which do you think I would choose? There’s no contest. The only way the fat lady would get the job would be if the fit girl was clearly incompetent with the learning curve of a drunken snail. More often than not, a strong mind comes with a strong body. I think the concept of “dumb jock” was discarded before I was born.
I sometimes hate myself to for being judgmental based on initial impressions since it goes against the civilized norm, but that’s life. People perceive us based on our physical appearance first, and our ability to think second. What makes me different is that I'm honest about it and I'm admitting it here. Whoever says otherwise is not being 100% honest as I believe that 99.9% of us cannot stay 100% objective all of the time. I can’t begin to tell you how many brilliant people who are paid less than I am who are keeping their companies afloat while their beautiful, yet incompetent bosses are out on a 3 hour lunch break. If these seemingly brilliant people could just figure out (or rather accept) that appearance counts as well in a sexist country like this, maybe they would get that promotion and help push our company to new heights. Lastly, if both you and your non-fit co-worker ask your boss for a promotion or a raise and the boss has to choose one of you yet leaves it up to you both to decide, at least after working out, you’ll have a much easier time settling it in the parking lot.J
February 28th, 2005
Due to (surprisingly) popular demand: How you can contribute to my website.
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