I often wonder what people think about while they’re working out alone. I imagine a bit of counting, reinforcement, and self discipline goes on, but what about their thoughts behind it all? What motivates them? What are their strong thoughts?
History has admired this question for a long time. Let’s look at the Mona Lisa. The famous question asks, “What is she thinking?” It’s a question people have been asking for a lifetime. Whatever she is thinking, it escapes through the techniques of which Leonardo DaVinci chose to paint her. Whether it’s her own thought or DaVinci’s personal thoughts, it has created a lasting impression throughout time. A strong thought indeed.
The places we find ourselves with strong thoughts can come from various places. Perhaps we create strong thoughts when we see our kids playing outside, when we see a great movie (cough, Inception..), or find something enticing on StumbleUpon. Maybe we get them when we’re with people at church, at the bar, or just hanging out.
But what about being alone with strong thoughts? Something wonderful gives the sense liberation about doing things by oneself. Of course, we should balance between being alone and being with others, but the thoughts we think while we do things for ourselves are incredibly valuable. In these moments, we let our minds wander down rabbit holes. I’m talking about the incredibly thoughtful ideas our minds can think of while we are taking showers, going for a walk, eating by ourselves, or to bring it back to the beginning of this post, working out. I challenge everyone to treat themselves to a decent dinner (AT the restaurant) for themselves and themselves only. Romantic comedies have created this unsolicited idea that eating alone is something people should fear. Trust me, it’s strange and uncomfortable at first, but there is value in it. As dear Winston Churchill said, “This is no time for ease and comfort. It is time to dare and endure.”
Write or save the strong thoughts you have. Don’t worry, it won’t be like reading your diary from elementary school. This will be good. In a video interview, the incredible performance artist Marina Abramovic used an exercise for her students about this exact idea. She asked them to buy colored sheets of paper and a trash can. Around the same time of every day for three months, Abramovic asked her students to write down their good ideas. The ones they liked, they put to the right side of the table, and the ones they didn’t like would go in the trash. After the three months, the students were very eager to share their good ideas. She told them she wasn’t interested in good ideas, and instead went through their trash cans and said, “Every idea was incredible.” Keep making strong thoughts, strong minds, strong bodies. Embrace the ideas your own body, mind, and spirit create. Keep putting yourself in situations where you surprise even yourself. Just as one is encouraged to “dare and endure” physically, I challenge everyone to mentally dare ourselves to fall down our rabbit holes and discover something new and refreshing.
You can watch the video interview with Marina Abramovic here:
This entry was contributed by Shannon Bolen, a Public Relations and Marketing intern at Hedstrom - Ball, Bounce and Sport. She recently graduated from Bowling Green State University and her favorite Marina Abramovic piece is Rest Energy.
