Posts Tagged ‘kim kardashian’
Where’s your focus?
Okay, I admit it… The past couple of days I’ve been ranting about the ridiculousness of the media circus that is Kim Kardashian and her filing for divorce. As inane as I think the whole ordeal is, I’ve still been reading media reports, shaking my head in disgust whenever the news would report on the divorce (and/or wedding) and even adversely judging Kim and her family’s media empire (not to mention resenting it, given her original claim to fame, aside from her father, was starring in her own self-made sex tape).
In fact, the other day I found myself texting back and forth with several friends about the whole matter. All at once I stopped, realizing that I was playing into the media game that Kim and her family have so wisely made a mockery of. (Yeah, I begrudgingly use the word ‘wisely’ given that the whole Kardashian clan seems to be laughing all the way to the bank.)
As media outlets report that Kim is valiantly defending her actions, I realized that even with disparaging conversation, we have been giving Kim Kardashian exactly what she wants: Attention. Thus, I had to stop the texting. But even more important? I had to put the brakes on the judgmental thoughts going on in my head. After all, I do not want an outlook on life that’s colored or in any way influenced by anything having to do with a Kardashian.
After I grounded myself (and reminded myself that my opinion really doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things), I took a breath and looked around. As the ‘Kardashian fog’ cleared and I was hit with clarity, I realized where my reality actually was:
It was the noon hour. And I was on a walk with my amazing, happy and sprightly puppy. We were in our beautiful neighborhood. The sun was shining and the comfortable but mildly crisp temperature reminded me it was autumn (my favorite time of year). I suddenly realized, ‘What the heck do I have to complain about?’
The answer was – and is, “Absolutely nothing.” And that answer includes anything having to do with Kim Kardashian or any other media circus taking place in the world.
This is and always will be my world.
I was suddenly reminded that what we focus on not only defines our attitude and our outlook, but also our expectations as well as the entire world around us. If I’m going to be grumpy because Kim Kardashian said, “I do” (followed quickly by, “I don’t”), then I was giving up my perspective, not to mention my power.
As someone who survived a childhood filled with abuse – along with the rollercoaster ride of eating and emotions that resulted in my weighing over 450 pounds when I graduated from college, I have learned that how I view the world is how the world will be. If I choose to have a sunny disposition and count my blessings (no matter how seemingly small), the world rises up to meet me – with beautiful autumn sunshine, a puppy that thinks I hung the moon and a pep in my step since I now weigh a very healthy 175 pounds. And the list of blessings goes on from there. Were I to take on a more dismal view of the world – whether a view having to do with a Kardashian or with grief related to my past – or whatever, the world around me would reflect that as well. And I know that’s not a world I want to live in.
Sunny disposition aside, who am I to judge Kim Kardashian anyway? One of my favorite nonfiction authors, Byron Katie, often reminds her readers and people who attend her lectures that there are three kinds of business in this world:
1. My business
2. Your business
3. God’s business (the God of your understanding, she always points out)
Here’s Byron Katie’s brief but very insightful reasoning as to why it might be wise to figure out whose business you’re currently “in”:
Is Kim Kardashian my business? Of course, not. I can change the channel. I can click away from an internet site. I can continue past the tabloid magazines on display at the supermarket. I can fill my brain, my mind and my vision with bigger and better things – all of which I can control. This is called a sunny outlook. Others sum this strategy up as, “What you see, is what you’ll be.”
So what’s in your line of vision today? Where’s your focus? Are you concentrating on the good in your life? Are you counting the endless reasons for joy? Being happy absolutely helps with meeting goals – weather weight loss related or otherwise. Choose a dismal attitude and you become a magnate for negativity. Choose a positive one and, well; you might just get a lick from one of the world’s cutest puppies.
So as tempting as it can be to jump into the cesspool that embodies the world of notorious “celebrities,” I’m stepping away from the murky water, drying off and moving into the sunshine. There are too many other things to focus on. Too many other things to be joyful about. That’s the kind of energy I want to create for my day. And I invite you to join me.
So? Where’s your joy in this moment? Do tell! Me and my puppy are waiting to lap it up right along with you!
There are no magic wands
When people I’ve recently met find out I’ve taken off over 250 pounds in excess weight and kept it off for over a decade, they excitedly ask me how I did it. Sadly, nothing brings disappointment to their faces faster than me answering, “Eating less and exercising more – along with drinking lots of water and getting plenty of sleep.”
Peoples’ usual responses to my revelation are, “Oh,” – as if I’ve popped their balloon or accidentally stepped on a kitten.
I understand their disappointment. Who wouldn’t want me to answer with, “I found this magic wand and lost all the weight in a day’s time. Here – you can have my magic wand, if you’d like.” After all, we’re all looking for shortcuts in life. So why wouldn’t we want a shortcut to losing weight and getting healthier?
But the fact is, there is no magic wand – and by ‘magic wand,’ I include pills, surgeries, fad diets and other farfetched means that people use in order to try and take off the pounds as quickly and as painlessly as possible.
Because of the dieter’s quest for a magic wand, individuals and companies have taken to selling products backed up by often spurious claims that tell us these items might finally solve the dieter’s lifelong effort to take off excess weight. This activity seems quite criminal to me – all conjured up to rob the dieter of his or her hard earned money by playing on their weaknesses and fears as well as their desires for permanent change.
This practice has come to national attention in the last couple of days, now that the Federal Trade Commission has clamped down on Reebok for making what it refers to as “false claims” about Reebok’s popular selling “toning” shoes.
I have to admit that when I first saw these shoes being advertised (by “celebrity” spokesmodels including Kim Kardashian no less), I rolled my eyes. Imagine my surprise when one of my closest friends, who is very athletic, bought a pair, wanting to tone up a bit more. I couldn’t believe my friend was taken in by the claims (not to mention by anything promoted via Twitter by Kim Kardashian).
According to news reports, the FTC has settled a class action lawsuit regarding Reebok’s claims in product ads that its’ Easy Tone and Runtone shoes “strengthen and tone key leg and buttock muscles” [more than regular shoes might]. Reebok is having to pay a $25 million fine while also having to offer refunds to customers (even though reportedly standing behind its technology).
Dr. Cedric Bryant, Chief Science Officer for the American Council on Exercise, has also weighed in on this issue, stating, “The take home message is that whether you walk in normal running shoes or you go out and purchase and make the investment in these toning shoes, you’re going to get similar results and effects.”
My big question is, why wouldn’t any of this be common sense to the consumer – much less the dieter, who surely has tried these ‘magic wand’-type of products before and likely only gained weight?
Sadly, this is just one example of the kind of “magical thinking” we want to believe might set us free from our excess weight. I know people who have ordered horse tranquilizers from Canada, believing claims that they were a celebrity secret for losing and keeping off unwanted weight without dieting. If this seems crazy to you, consider a popular diet pill that’s available at most stores here in the United States, with instructions that warn the user to wear dark underwear due to the risk of “anal leakage.”
Like it or not, much of the blame for products like these being on the market rests with us, the dieting audience. There’s a reason that the dieting business has become a multi billion-dollar a year industry. It’s because we are suckers. And we’re often unwilling to face the hard fact that we are responsible for our excess weight and, therefore, we are responsible for taking it off.
Horse tranquilizers? Anal leakage? Shoes that tone our bodies without extra work from us? Why not just have a salad and go for a power walk instead?
But don’t lose all hope. In truth, ‘eating less and exercising more’ can be a real magic wand of sorts.
Once I stopped trying to trick my body (No carbs! Only grapefruit! Cabbage Soup!) and started eating right and moving more, the excess weight literally melted off within a year’s time. Now, I’m not claiming that you’ll have the exact same results. I had a lot of weight to lose, so the weight came off quickly for me. Everyone has different metabolisms and their bodies will respond differently. But ask any doctor – even someone with a Thyroid condition will lose weight if they eat more sensibly and add working out to their daily routines. No ‘magic wand’ required.
Less tricks. More common sense and self-responsibility. Try it. The results just might be magical.
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