Tyra Banks is not exaclty someone I idolize. While, I will admit that I did enjoy the season finale of “America’s Top Model” last night, I didn’t live and die by it. I have never watched the Tyra Banks show…or whatever it’s called. But the other day, Shape magazine came in the mail (free subscription for registering through Active.com for a 5k) and Tyra was on the cover, with an article about body confidence and her So What? campaign. The actual title of the article was “why I love my body…just the way it is”.
I read the article and it made me a fan (still no idolizing). She has some great “love-your-body tips” and, while I haven’t felt the need to incorporate them all into my life, since I read the article, I keep having these “so what?” moments. And let me tell you, it feels good.
I was in Nordstrom last Friday, shopping, which I mentioned in here. What I didn’t say…because I really do have issues…is that not only did I buy two pairs of shoes, but I also found a dress. I found this great dress and grabbed the size that I thought would fit, and it did, not that I was happy about it. But then, I looked in the mirror and it looked great and I thought to myself, “I don’t love this size, but so what? It looks fantastic!” One of Tyra’s tips is to buy an article of clothing/outfit that makes you feel fabulous, so I went ahead and purchased the dress.
Another moment, the one that acted as a catalyst for this post, happened today. I finally sucked it up and went for a run. I haven’t been running for a few weeks. I went walking a couple of times last week, but no running and with a 5k to run on Saturday, I thought now might be a good time to make sure that I was not going to die.
I got in my car and headed to the canyon. I was proud of myself for finally going, but I was not looking forward to the run…and there began the negative self-talk. “You know, three months ago you could run ten miles. Three months ago you weighed ten pounds less,” etc. Well, it was in that moment that this voice piped up (a voice I am still getting used to) and screamed, “So what?”
I got out of my car, put my headphones in, turned on my nano, got my nike+ rolling and I was off. It felt so good. I just ran…and then walked…and then ran some more. Normally, I become very frustrated when I start walking, mainly because I have a very hard time running again due to my somewhat obsessive “all or nothing” tendencies which tell me that, once I start walking, I have failed. But yesterday was different. Before I even set off, I decided that I wanted to do five miles, and if that meant walking, “so what?” I was outside, moving my body, enjoying nature. I ran a mile, walked a mile, ran a mile, walked a mile and finished out running the last mile. I wasn’t frustrated or upset. I didn’t feel like a failure at all. For an hour yesterday, I just loved my body and what it was capable of. It was amazing!
existential dilemmas 
great post! I love Tyra. My favorite (but most eye-rolling) part of ANTM is at the end when Tyra inevitably starts off with, “Two beautiful girls stand before me…” I call it Tyra Wisdom. I need some Tyra Wisdom in my life.
This is a great post, I could really use a little “so what” in my life!Don’t you love the nike chip?! I bought a nano last week for the sole purpose of being able to use the nike chip. I really think it will serve as good motivation for me to be able to track my workouts and visibly see my progress and improvement as my training goes on, and it will be nice to be able to run anywhere instead of having to track out my distance runs beforehand. I also love that you can issue challenges to other nike plus users. As a matter of fact, my co-worker and I have just challenged each other to see who can run the most in 30 days. With my marathon training schedule I think I’ve got this one in the bag!
Yes, and I feel no need to scream it in the street. I’m perfectly happy with the little voice that talks to me in my head.
This is funny because I don’t normally watch the Tyra show, but the other day I turned it on and it was her “So What?” show. She had a mob of women (probably 50 of them) in hot pink tube tops that said “So what?” on them. The women were screaming things like, “My boyfriend dumped me! So What!?” with a megaphone and marching along Santa Monica Boulevard in LA. It was really funny. Minus the theatrics, I do agree with the whole “So What?” idea. Clever.