Infectors!
Here's an article I wrote, must have been last November or the November before. I like it. Enjoy.
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Beware of the Infectors
By Ryan Linderson
November is here - Probably my favorite month, with my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving. People might assume I would write a "being thankful" article this month. Although I do have many things to be thankful for, I think I'll do the unexpected. Something I'm good at. I'm going on the offensive. I'm going to warn you about something - The Infectors.
I can't lay claim to inventing this term and what it stands for. Truth is I read about the Infectors in a book a long time ago. So long ago, I can't even remember the title of the book.
Let me tell you a little story. Back when I was a fat sophomore in high school, I committed myself to getting to the 190 pound mark by the following year. I've written about this before so you might already know that I did it. But, before I did, when I was still 230 pounds, I told everyone on the wrestling team what I was going to do. Did they believe me? I don't know. I do know one guy, who I'll call 'BD,' literally laughed in my face. He did the thing, where, he forced out a big loud laugh so everyone could hear it.
BD was an Infector.
Infectors are those people who tell you - you can't do something. They tell you whatever you want, is out of reach for you. They plant that idea in your head. They want you to fail. They may even get pleasure out of seeing you fail. Infectors don't always know what they are. They may think they're the most supportive, loving, caring people in the world. And they could be, for certain things. Infectors can be family members; the husband - not supporting his wife's weight loss; the teenager - calling his dad fat and laughing about it.
I've come across several Infectors in my day. I'm still pretty young, so I plan to come across several more. I've met some on my way to all my fitness goals, my business goals, my personal goals, everywhere. There is always someone telling you, you can't do it - And there always will be.
Infectors are people who've not accomplished much on their own. They're people who are too concerned with what you are doing to actually do anything themselves. They want to keep you down with them so they have someone to hang out with. They are not always consciously "evil" people, sometimes they are, but most of the time they aren’t.
Successful people are the most supportive people one could meet. They know "it" can be done, because they've done "it." I will never tell anybody they can't get into shape, that they can't lose weight, that they can't start their own business, that they can't get married at 21 years-old, that they can't learn whatever they want to learn. I've done all those so I know it can be done.
What to do with Infectors?
If you can, cut them out of your life completely. I know it's harsh, but as you know, that's how I usually deal with things. No whining. No crying. Do what must be done. Obviously, if they are a family member, this may not be the best approach. Communicate to them that what they're doing, whether they realize it or not, they are not helping you, and ask them to stop. If they care about you I'm sure they will. They probably won't even realize they were having that effect on you and apologize.
All of you people out there who think that you can't get fit. Let me ask you: Says who? An Infector? Are you your own Infector? I've seen that before. Those are the people whose internal dialogue tells them they aren’t good enough. They say things like, “I can’t do that” more times a day than they blink their eyes. If you catch yourself doing this, pause and think. Think about what you want, and how you plan to get it. I’ve had clients of mine saying they can’t do an exercise while they are actually doing it. It boggles my mind. I just say, “You just did it!”
The next time someone tells you you can’t. No matter if it’s you,a family member, a competitor, a friend, an enemy, think of this article. Take it from me, the Anti-Infector. You can!
---
Train smart,
RL
---
Beware of the Infectors
By Ryan Linderson
November is here - Probably my favorite month, with my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving. People might assume I would write a "being thankful" article this month. Although I do have many things to be thankful for, I think I'll do the unexpected. Something I'm good at. I'm going on the offensive. I'm going to warn you about something - The Infectors.
I can't lay claim to inventing this term and what it stands for. Truth is I read about the Infectors in a book a long time ago. So long ago, I can't even remember the title of the book.
Let me tell you a little story. Back when I was a fat sophomore in high school, I committed myself to getting to the 190 pound mark by the following year. I've written about this before so you might already know that I did it. But, before I did, when I was still 230 pounds, I told everyone on the wrestling team what I was going to do. Did they believe me? I don't know. I do know one guy, who I'll call 'BD,' literally laughed in my face. He did the thing, where, he forced out a big loud laugh so everyone could hear it.
BD was an Infector.
Infectors are those people who tell you - you can't do something. They tell you whatever you want, is out of reach for you. They plant that idea in your head. They want you to fail. They may even get pleasure out of seeing you fail. Infectors don't always know what they are. They may think they're the most supportive, loving, caring people in the world. And they could be, for certain things. Infectors can be family members; the husband - not supporting his wife's weight loss; the teenager - calling his dad fat and laughing about it.
I've come across several Infectors in my day. I'm still pretty young, so I plan to come across several more. I've met some on my way to all my fitness goals, my business goals, my personal goals, everywhere. There is always someone telling you, you can't do it - And there always will be.
Infectors are people who've not accomplished much on their own. They're people who are too concerned with what you are doing to actually do anything themselves. They want to keep you down with them so they have someone to hang out with. They are not always consciously "evil" people, sometimes they are, but most of the time they aren’t.
Successful people are the most supportive people one could meet. They know "it" can be done, because they've done "it." I will never tell anybody they can't get into shape, that they can't lose weight, that they can't start their own business, that they can't get married at 21 years-old, that they can't learn whatever they want to learn. I've done all those so I know it can be done.
What to do with Infectors?
If you can, cut them out of your life completely. I know it's harsh, but as you know, that's how I usually deal with things. No whining. No crying. Do what must be done. Obviously, if they are a family member, this may not be the best approach. Communicate to them that what they're doing, whether they realize it or not, they are not helping you, and ask them to stop. If they care about you I'm sure they will. They probably won't even realize they were having that effect on you and apologize.
All of you people out there who think that you can't get fit. Let me ask you: Says who? An Infector? Are you your own Infector? I've seen that before. Those are the people whose internal dialogue tells them they aren’t good enough. They say things like, “I can’t do that” more times a day than they blink their eyes. If you catch yourself doing this, pause and think. Think about what you want, and how you plan to get it. I’ve had clients of mine saying they can’t do an exercise while they are actually doing it. It boggles my mind. I just say, “You just did it!”
The next time someone tells you you can’t. No matter if it’s you,a family member, a competitor, a friend, an enemy, think of this article. Take it from me, the Anti-Infector. You can!
---
Train smart,
RL
posted by Ryan at 11:19 AM
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