Self-Discipline and Self-Fulfillment

Earlier this week, career columnist Penelope Trunk emailed me saying she needed a source for an article on self-discipline and asked if I’d be available the following day for a photo shoot with the Boston Globe. Uhh… yeah!

“I hope you’re doing something more interesting than typing away on your computer,” she said.

“Well, I was gonna go to the gym,” I admitted, “but I could probably find something more exciting to do.”

“No,” she said, “gym is perfect. Are you someone who should be photographed at the gym?”

I told her I work out several times a week and I have no issues being seen in a workout attire (bikini is another story, but Penelope said the Globe likes their subjects fully clothed anyway).

The bf had been privvy to the whole conversation, so when I got off the phone he asked me, “Are you sure you want to be photographed at the gym? I mean, isn’t there some other setting that might be more flattering?”

“No,” I told him, “this is journalism. It’s not supposed to be glamorous, it’s supposed to show me in my natural habitat. And I can still look cute at the gym.”

But on January 2, when my gym filled up with sweaty resolution-makers and I started to get a little nervous, I realized why both of these people had asked the question. It’s not so much an issue of size as an issue of sweat. I get really flushed when I workout, so after about 10 minutes, my makeup had all rubbed off and I felt about as cute as a wet rat.

But I do like the clever title of the article: Exercising Self-Discipline. Notice I was not chosen as the poster child for work/life balance or office diplomacy. But I was included in the Personal Development and Happiness Blog Carnival, so you might check that out, too!