Ha ha, are you wondering what that title is in regard to?
During my work week I discovered one of the contractors assigned to the project ran the Chicago Marathon this year. Naturally, running and exercise related conversation ensued. Which I enjoyed, but felt bad about during and after – I didn’t intend to dominate a group conversation with a topic only a couple of people could participate in.
So later I apologized to my coworker about it, and she said, well, what the title says – “Well, I would rather talk about it than do it!”
Which of course, was a funny way to respond and it made me laugh. But then I got to thinking about the comments the other people listening to the running-talk were adding, and it was all comments about why they can’t exercise, or why they don’t, or how lame it is.
Sigh.
I am unfortunately used to these kind of responses when people find out I am vegan. The most common responses are why people don’t do it, or how they never could. Or how good meat tastes.
It gets old, ha ha.
Do you have any interests or hobbies that gets a response like this?
But back to exercise. What’s with the exercise-shaming? In a society where more and more people are reported obese each year, why are people making fun of those who take the time to work out?
Really, why, when people share a passion or hobby, do people come back with things that are wrong about it, or why it would never interest them?
I’ve written about this before. And I will say the same – when someone tells me about an interest of theirs that I don’t share, I ask questions. I try to learn about it.
Anyways.
The funny thing is, while I talk about exercise a lot on here, I don’t, much at all, at work. I don’t tell my coworkers about upcoming races, or the classes I teach (save for my fave coworker that I can talk to).
So it is exciting when I find someone I can talk to it about! I mean, just like you get excited when you find anyone who shares a similar interest. And yes, I have more interests than running!
Dressed as Chewie for Star Wars Day.
The good thing about spending so much time with people though, is that you find out a lot of things about them, so while my coworker doesn’t have any interest in exercise, I found out she is a huge Star Wars fan and likes heavy metal. So those are things we can talk about, amicably.
All the time. But usually those self denigrating comments are followed by “you’re crazy”, to which I say thank you OR “I hate to run” to which I say “I’m sorry”. I mean really, why can’t people just be happy for us?
I wonder that, too. Especially because I am so happy to hear about their interests! So odd.
My training cycle for the half was filled with pain, so I didn’t talk much about it. If I would mention to a few different coworkers the long mileage amount for the week, they would look at me like I had five heads.
This only fueled my ambition.
I am happy you turned it in to something that encouraged you! 🙂
Much the same as you. I’ve mentioning running in front of certain people cause they think I’m nuts. Same with being vegetarian , can’t imagine the comments being a vegan must inspire lol
Quite a few people still don’t understand what vegan means, so I bet we get a lot of the same ones 🙂 How about the “My friend is vegetarian and she eats meat.” Ha ha. Your friend needs to quit calling herself that! 😛
Same here. About both exercise and eating habits. Sigh. The worst is when people get all defensive, as if my choices are a personal attack on them.
Don’t you always make choices to personally attack others, though?! LOL. Of course not 🙂
I love talking about running too! Good thing all but a couple of my friends are running. My coworkers just think I’m crazy. My favorite is when people bash running on Facebook. Just recently, a FB friend posted something like, “I saw a runner running down a country road ALONE. That is SO DANGEROUS.”
Ha. Ha ha. Now, if she said, I saw someone running in the dark on the wrong side of the street w/o reflective gear, okay, sure. But I doubt that is what it was about 🙂
Whenever I talk about burlesque, the majority of the comments are “I could never do that!” But at least I also hear a lot of “I admire that you do that!” or “I admire your confidence!” Funny that I get such a positive response to taking off my clothes, but people get all insecure and full of excuses when we talk about running? What’s what all about????
Because, as a woman, you should want to take your clothes off, silly 😛
I actually don’t know, but that is really interesting. I do think burlesque is super cool and love hearing about it! 🙂
Well I guess burlesque is a bit unique, so people are more interested, versus running where it’s like “yeah … I ran … and then I ran some more … and then one time I ran farther than ever … and another time I ran faster … and … yeah, just one foot in front of the other.”
I’m guessing a lot of the comments just stem from people’s insecurities. We all know that we “should” be really active, and for those of us non-runner types, when we encounter a marathon runner it’s like, “Wow, you’re so far past me…I could never do that. I can’t even run a block.” I think it’s just a natural train of thought that comes up for a non-active person, not necessarily intended (I hope!) as a slight on the runner.
Sounds like the kind of thing that calls for a neutral stock answer, like “Well, we all balance a lot of priorities these days…”
I think the vegan thing is a bit more complicated, but I do feel some guilt over that, too. Which reminds me, I read a great article in the most recent Yoga Journal about four different yoginis who had four different ways of eating – one ate some fish and humanely raised meat, one was vegetarian, one was vegan, and I can’t remember the other one. But it made me feel good because it was a pretty non-judgmental article while making the point that we can all eat ethically.
That is definitely what they stem from! It makes me feel bad that people hearing you can do something… makes them feel bad. I always applaud people for doing whatever their favorite exercise is, and really like hearing about it, cause maybe it’s something I would like to try someday! 🙂
Why do you feel guilty over the vegan thing? That is great you found that article that wasn’t biased. It’s really interesting that some people think there is a diet that should work for EVERYONE. Let people eat what they want! Ha ha. I just use a label because it makes it’s easier to communicate what I will and won’t eat.
The guilt is over the animal issues rather than dietary issues. I do try to be a conscientious eater, and buy free range eggs, chicken, and beef for home cooking, and wild caught fish wen I can.
It sounds like you are doing a good job! Just do what you are comfortable with! 🙂 It’s different for everyone 🙂
I think what Julie is saying has so much truth to it. Insecurity has such a big part of why people will say a snide-ish comment. What people fail to realize, most times, is that we all have different priorities in life. Not everyone wants to spend hours every week running. And that’s okay! And some people do – and THAT is okay, too!
It’s funny because I feel in the minority at my work because I’m not a runner. I would say a good 60-70% here are runners, and many of them run long distance, too. You’d fit in great here! 🙂
I get this feeling, though, a lot when I talk about reading. I typically read over 80 books a year, which amounts to reading 2-3 books per week. It’s just something I make time for because it’s one of my passions and I love it… so why WOULDN’T I make time for it? Ha. Of course I do! And just because I read like a crazy person doesn’t mean everyone has to.
Insecurity is causing those comments to come out about almost anything, right?! Gosh. You said it so clearly – if only everyone could respect other people’s priorities. The world could be a better place. LOL 🙂
I loved it when you wrote that post about how you fit your reading in! It’s something I don’t make the time to do, but want to be more like you and that was so helpful!
Good comparison, Stephany! I’m a big reader, too.
I’ve had people tell me why they can’t run, and I usually just acknowledge and move on but say “if you ever want to go sometime, let me know!” I hope it makes me sound non-judgmental or something.
I’ve had people they don’t have the time to knit (or sew) like I do, which kind of irks me. I actually read about this on Ravelry (a knitting social media site), and someone’s response to this was, “Well, it keeps me off the street.” I guess I’ll use it next time someone talks about how much time I have for hobbies.
When I was studying to become a personal trainer, there was a huge focus on how people don’t think they have time to do things (in that case, exercise) and how false it is. Priorities, people! We just have different ones. I hate that “I don’t have the time” attitude. Because it means the person thinks they are busier (and in their mind, probably better and more important) than you OR that your hobby is not worth making the time for.
I would love to learn how to knit! But – I haven’t made the time 😉 Just like I want to take more time in my schedule to read. I will get there someday!