(Apologies for the late post: I am in the middle of moving and internet sucks)
I’m a big
fan of language, which, as a statement, I realize is like saying “I’m a big fan
of air”, but continue to humor me.
Specifically, I like observing the shifts and changes in language, along
with the weaponization of it. Terms that
were once completely acceptable and positive can, in the course of simply a few
years, turn derisive and unwelcome. “Snowflake”
is such a term now, as it was once used as a positive way of expressing the
uniqueness and individuality of a person and is now mired in sardonic rhetoric
and used to demean the recipient of it.
And I just have to say: that is REALLY stupid. Why would you deride someone for being
unique? Why would someone chastise someone
for NOT falling in with the majority?
What is up with people that take pride in being exactly like everyone
else? Snowflake is DEFINITELY a
compliment, and if you receive it derisively, wear it with pride, because
having a stupid person consider you to not be their peer is a high accolade.
![Image result for I've never join a club that would have me as a member](https://en.bcdn.biz/Images/2018/8/14/183311ae-87c2-46f0-8e38-b8bfe58f2546.jpg)
In fairness, in a passing glance, I thought this was Nietzsche...
But where am
I going with this as it relates to training?
Once again, “snowflake” is used to demean people who won’t train and eat
like everyone else. “You are not a beautiful
and unique snowflake”, as people love to quote Tyler Durden from Fight Club, completely
missing the mark of the message in the first place, but still, the popular
reply whenever someone wants a critique on their own training or nutritional
approach. “Just do what everyone else is
doing”, “You don’t need to make your own training plan”, etc etc. We’ve all seen the canned responses and
replies, we’ve seen people get verbally eviscerated, we’ve seen the hopeful
bright-eyed trainee’s light go out as they decide to just do what everyone else
is doing.
But that is
the problem with such an approach: if you ask the majority what you should do,
you’ll get the reply to do what the majority does. AND, if you’re inclined to ask the majority
what to do, you’re denying your “snowflake-ness”. If you truly, honestly, in your
heart-of-hearts believe that you really are a unique snowflake, you do NOT need
anyone’s advice, permission, consent or guidance. If you ARE unique, then you will simply do
what you do AND you will succeed BECAUSE
you are unique. That is the whole point
of being that snowflake: you’re different.
The rules that apply to everyone else don’t apply to you.
Maybe...maybe some rules should still apply
And yes, not
everyone is going to be a unique snowflake, but hell, SOMEONE will be, so why
not let it be you? The odds dictate
that, at some point, it’s got to be someone.
It’s no different than winning the lottery or getting struck by
lightning or your other low-odds situations: it’s not likely, but it’s
possible. And with the power of positive
thinking, you may just well make it a self-fulfilling prophecy that it IS
you. Or hell, maybe it is the case that
ALL snowflakes simply ARE those people that will themselves into being exactly
what it is that they want to be, irrespective of how everyone else is
succeeding. Or maybe it’s even the case
that what makes someone a snowflake IS that they possess the ability TO will
themselves into what it is that they want to be. But in all of those situations, it stands to
reason that, if you decide it will be you, you have a chance that it WILL be
you: all you simply need to do is make that decision.
In turn,
upon making this decision, you need no other approval but your own. In fact, approval would be antithesis to the
whole endeavor. If the majority of other
people agree with what you’re doing, it’s not going to be what works for
you. You ARE that snowflake: you are
different. Your needs aren’t the same,
nor do you respond the same, nor do you get the same results. You must be different, you must train
different, you must act different, and, in turn, you will get the results other
people won’t get when they try to do what you do. And that’s ok. They’re normal: you aren’t.
And doubly
in turn, when you find those training methods that appeal to you and everyone
else says they’re bunk, that’s a great sign that you should try them. There have been fellow snowflakes and
lunatics in training: feel free to learn from them and ape their style. What you’ll most likely find is that all they
had in common was the right mindset.
They decided, before they even tried it, that how they were going to
train was GOING to work, and then they executed it and made it happen. You see this with the lunatics that did HIT,
Heavy Duty, Deep Water, Super Squats, Dogg Crapp, Blood and Guts, and all the
other hardcore sounding names that everyone likes to chide and say they’re scientifically
impossible and unsound and yet they just keep working on the people that do
them. And whenever some normal person
pays them lip service and sleepwalks through a program and then goes on to show
how they don’t work, this just further reinforces the point: it doesn’t work
for normal people. But I’m sure it works
for a snowflake like you.
You can’t
have it halfway though. If you truly
think that you are a snowflake with special needs, this means you can’t go
seeking out the approval of other people.
It’s not going to work. They’re
going to direct you toward what works for everyone, because that makes sense,
because the odds are you’re just like everyone else. But if you’re playing the odds here and
deciding that you AREN’T, you get to make your own decisions, make your own
mistakes, learn your own lessons and achieve your own victories. If you want to take lessons from others, only
take the ones you want and decide that they are the ones that are going to work
for YOU, and then disregard the ones you don’t want. Decide to mold and shape your reality the way
you want it to be. That is the luxury
you get for being unique.
I really like this post. I feel like the last part really pulls it together. You don't need anyone's permission to do something, but at the same time you can choose what advice to take and what to ignore.
ReplyDeleteBeing responsible for training decisions has taken me quite a ways. Every time I start doubting if what I'm doing is working, I just tell myself I chose this, take it to the end, then see how the results look. Instead if overanalyzing the mirror every morning, or what specific weights I'm lifting that day.
I still don't enjoy being called a snowflake though haha.
You don't enjoy it because it's become so derogatory, haha. I remember when it was a compliment.
DeleteOwnership is fantastic. Once you have it, you never wanna give it up.
Have you and a few others to thank for lighting the way to be honest tho. Keeping that noise to advice ratio nice n crispy.
Delete