Gyms are full of mirrors. Mirrors to get ready in front of in the bathrooms, and all over the walls in front of weight stations and cardio machines. I used to think they were there so you could watch yourself flex and check yourself out as you picked up your weights, drenched in sweat. But now, I feel like the mirrors are there to help you watch your form. You don’t want to drop your body or the weights too low, and the mirrors are there to help keep you accountable to the angles, movements and ways one moves their body.
I look at the wall, the small brick or concrete sections of the gym that lack mirrors. Why?
I used to think it was because I didn’t want to feel prideful in myself or catch myself flexing in the mirror. But now, I feel like I don’t look at the mirror because I’m scared to acknowledge myself. I’m scared to see the reflection that would be looking back at me - its age, its change, its face. I don’t want to acknowledge myself or be acknowledged, out of fear, not humbleness.
Today is National Admin Professionals Day - a day when we’re supposed to acknowledge and celebrate those secretaries, schedulers and those around us who probably work the hardest carry a lot of stress. I hope today is a day when they are acknowledged. When teammates are able to look them in the face, without fear of vulnerability and say ‘Thank you.’ Thank you to some of the most unacknowledged people in the workforce who work the hardest.
-Cliff
Cliff’s Note: Acknowledge those around you, and yourself.