Break That Mirror, Then Find Another

“You’ve got the wrong picture of yourself, Elsa. No matter how far you’ve come, you bring that mirror with you. Break it…remember, I’m a mirror too.” 

This fictional conversation in Kristin Hannah’s “The Four Winds” has stuck with me for the past 6 months since I first read it. I’ve found myself re-visiting it recently, so I thought I would write about why I find it so uplifting and so difficult at the same time. 

Last week, my squats were a lot tougher than usual. I had accidentally packed the wrong shoes (too squishy), my legs were tired from a same-day bench workout, and I find it very hard to watch myself on video when it comes to how my legs and hips move. As much as I know that watching myself is helpful for correcting my form, sometimes it makes me want to jump out of my skin. This passage reminds me that when I start to feel that way, I am looking at myself through a mirror that is broken–one where my muscle weakness gets warped into a character flaw, even though my logical mind knows that’s not true.

All of this is to say that one of my goals for future blog posts is to publish more videos (with better quality) – to show my off days, my new PRs, and everything in between. Here’s to hoping that in the process, I reconstruct the mirror through which I see myself. Everyone deserves a mirror that celebrates the reflection. If not, break that mirror, then find another.

                          

 

135 lbs with wonky hips

    

250 lbs with too little breath

100 lbs until failure with some unintentional Larsen (feet up) reps