"If You Don't Puke"

There’s a neighborhood gym that I drive by a couple of times each week, and one day while at a red light, I noticed a couple of signs that they put out front. One of them read, “Lose up to 15 pounds in a month”, and the other said, “1st session free – if you don’t puke”. I know that all my friends who are veterans in the fitness industry would regard these messages with disapproval and eye rolling, and this is how I reacted as well.

I initially felt justified in having a negative and judgmental reaction to this gym’s marketing. After all, it’s messages like, “lose up to 15 pounds in a month”, that give the fitness industry a bad name, and only serve to give false hope to people who want to get healthier. The sign about puking reminded me of the show, “The Biggest Loser”, where contestants were literally abused physically, mentally, and emotionally by trainers, and often pushed to the point of throwing up.

The light turned green, and I drove away with my opinions of disapproval, and that’s when something occurred to me. I’ve been putting a lot of effort into building a more healthy and supportive relationship with myself; in other words, being my own friend and living more from my heart. There is so much that goes into this process, including having a high awareness of my inner-dialogue, and when passing judgement on myself and others. I believe that when we judge others, it actually indicates that we’re not feeling very positive about ourselves, and it’s definitely not living from the heart.

So, I acknowledged what I’d done, apologized to myself and the Universe, and sent good will toward the gym owner by recognizing that they had the courage to become an entrepreneur and open their own facility, and that they happen to advertise toward a particular market that differs from mine. I noticed an emotional shift when I did this – it felt much better to extend good will to this person instead of casting unfair judgment. As a passage in the Bible says, “Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you.”

If you feel that you’d benefit from paying more attention to your inner thoughts, and potentially reframing judgments toward yourself and others, I’d really like to hear about your experiences and any take-aways.