I once overheard a couple of colleagues talking in the staff room. I’ll call them Colleague 1 and 2. Colleague 2 was just listening while Colleague 1 was apparently on a soapbox about the value of teaching P.E. to his students. Now mind you, Colleague 1 is not a dumbass. He’s a brilliant man, very athletic and pretty well rounded. He’s simply not the stereotypical dumb educator who is a sports has been and went into education so he could coach. No, this guy really is top of the gene pool when it comes to smarts, so when he spoke, I usually listened, in this case, I blatantly eavesdropped.
To the best of my recollection, Colleague 1 was saying that sports, fitness, coordination and the success of a child in this area was a huge confidence boost to the child. For example, he mentioned the situation where he compared the brightest least athletic kid in the class to the not so bright but athletic kid. Who’s generally the more confident? You don’t usually hear the bright kid saying after a losing a round of basketball, “Hey, I can wipe your butt in reading though!” No, you usually hear the athletic kid saying, “Yeah, maybe you read better than I do, but come out here on court and I’ll kick your ass!”
Athletic ability has a certain measure of self confidence as a by-product. Now, this could be in part because American culture values entertainment over education and athletic prowess is an aspect of that entertainment industry…a big one and a lucrative one…but also a very competitive one.
I know from my own experiences and lack of experiences in certain sports that this confidence is not just imagined. Not only is it real it bleeds over into other areas of life.
As a child, I needed glasses but this need went undetected until I was nearly through high school. My glasses corrected my vision and improved my depth perception. I am convinced that because of these vision issues I had trouble with any kind of sport requiring any sort of eye hand coordination.
On the other hand, I could excel at anything that required the use of my body to endure. Consequently sports like distance running, cycling and swimming became my athletic endeavors. In fact, I was a competitive swimmer from the time I was eight until high school where I quit briefly only to pick it up again in college. While I never competed in college, I did work out with the swim team. To this day, I’m very skilled and comfortable in the water.
This confidence around water bleeds over into other areas of my life. I know that when it comes to water, docks, swimming, the ocean, I have none of the hang ups most people do. I also know I can kick most men’s butts in the water. A 250 pound man who could easily put me in a half nelson and render me helpless on dry ground hasn’t a chance if we’re in water over his head. But let’s not even go there.
Conversely, if a moving object is thrown at me, instead of catching it, I will duck. Every time. I lack confidence there. And, I’m less coordinated in that aspect. Not that I care, in fact I don’t, but I think it is an interesting observation. My last ex grew up playing sports that used balls and rarely swam, ran or cycled. He’s adept on the basketball court or on the football field but he’s a complete wuss in the lake without a life jacket, inflatable toy and tow rope.
Many of us have experienced the deflating feeling of looking in the mirror and seeing that it is clearly time to stop eating or start buying bigger sizes. Packing around extra weight makes me feel lethargic, more easily tired and less confident in my appearance. And for one, who spends her life “up front”, looking decent is important. More importantly maintaining a high energy level and self-confidence is critical. I manage all of my life better when I am in shape and looking my best, because at these times I’m also feeling my best. Sadly, none of this has anything to do with my superbly brilliant mind which doesn’t change much regardless of the reading on the scale.
It’s just interesting how we develop confidence based on what we are able to do or not do physically. The same holds true in academic areas, though as children this is not so pronounced. Even as adults, most of the world bows to the beautiful and fit body instead of the brilliant mind.
These are all just interesting observations for me, as for about the 4th time now in my life (one for each child I have) I endeavor to get back into shape and shrink my body size, weight and percent body fat while increasing my strength, stamina, flexibility, coordination and overall fitness level. Only this time, I’m significantly older.
14 days into my fitness journey and I’ve lost 3 1/2 inches on my waist, 2 inches on my hips, 8 pounds when Ichecked two days ago and clothes are noticeably baggier. I’m starting to see more definition in all areas of my physique, though admittedly I still have work to do. 
Even my children have noticed the reduction in the muffin top and back flab on their dear old mom.
Funnier thing: My 18-year-old couldn’t even keep up with the squat and lunge series in the workout tapes I was doing. She was impressed. “Mom! You’re so athletic!” Hmmm, no not really, just years of swimming, cycling and weight training coming back. Thank God! I fully expected to be hit with rigor mortis and pain as I tried to get back into it, but fortunately such is not the case.
With all this reduction in my life, the one thing that is increasing is my confidence. The other thing is my strength. The last thing is my energy.
Hell yes, after 45, this old bod still has what it takes to operate at its best! Demi Moore has nothing on me, except a lot more money! Oh yeah, and leeches!
