"I've decided that perhaps I'm bulimic and just keep forgetting to purge."

-- Paula Poundstone

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Sidelined

Last night I watched a little bit of “Losing It with Jillian,” NBC’s latest weight loss show featuring the notoriously bad-ass fitness trainer from “Biggest Loser.”

She seems to be a bit more caring in this show, as she travels around helping individual overweight families.

The father in last night’s family had such a fear of failure that he had quit trying just about everything.

If you remember, I can relate. I have huge issues with perfectionism.

But I’m trying. I even had a dear friend write me some time ago and praise me for trying new things, as she told me about her own fears:

“And now you're doing Zumba. I've been wanting to do that forever, and I'm too terrified to even think about going. All I do is talk myself out of it. I signed up and paid for a pregnancy yoga class and broke in tears the night I was supposed to go the first time because I was too scared I'd need help getting up off the floor. So, yup, I never even tried.”

Please, please, please don’t let your fears keep you watching life from the sidelines.

As the father last night found when he tried roller-skating, his family didn’t care that he couldn’t skate. All they cared about was that he was there with them.

The memories were made during the laughter after the falls.

One day, it’s gonna be too late. You’re gonna realize that you spent your whole life watching.

And fearing.

And avoiding.

Why not start living?

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