Pride (aka Tooting One’s Own Horn)

A collective conversation happening with some of my health and fitness peeps has sparked my thoughts in the arena of pride. It’s interesting as we become healthy, lose weight, gain strength and do all the things that were once thought impossible, people around us start out supportive, and then either join in the movement with us, or make subtle jabs saying that we may have become”obsessed”, “fanatics”, or attack our parenting in that “we are so consumed with our own goals that we must be neglecting our families”.

I call BS.

Granted, as the saying goes, it IS in fact possible to workout without posting it on Facebook (I’ve been guilty of that and more!) but so what?! If it provides accountability and gets a person off the couch, better something positive than the alternative.

In our culture, probably more so for women, it seems that the polite thing to do is be modest. Don’t brag about yourself. Don’t put yourself out there. Don’t stand out. Who are you to think you are special? On and on it goes.

My question is this: Why not? Why not stand out, get healthy, run a marathon (or whatever your deal is) and then, yes – blow the heck out of that damn horn! Can we not just be happy for someone that is making positive changes in a healthy direction, even if we aren’t there yet ourselves? While being prideful in a way that is hurtful or puts someone else down is never good, healthy pride in our accomplishments is a good thing. Reverence and respect for our strengths is healthy. Don’t we praise our kids and cheer them on when they succeed?! Why can’t we do the same thing for ourselves?