Sasha Fierce
Do you ever feel the need to pull out a persona in order to do something? Are some things easier or more fun when we channel someone else?
Beyonce channels Sasha Fierce when she’s onstage. Sasha does and says things that Beyonce may be uncomfortable doing in her everyday, offstage, life. She talked about this a bit on Oprah. It came to my mind the other day when I was at the gym and I realized how much of an escape it can be for me to be there.
In spin class I can be behind Lance Armstrong in the Tour de France going as fast as my legs can fly. In cardio funk/salsa I can be on a cruise or in Cancun shakin’ my hips to the music. I’m not anyone’s mother, I’m not in charge of what’s for dinner, I don’t have to be anywhere else. I can push my body and enjoy what my body can do. It has become, for me, a bit of an escape.
Over the last seven months when JD was unemployed my goal at the gym would often be to forget the stress. My goal was to be exhausted physically, to ask so much of my body that I would literally forget the stress. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t, sometimes I hurt myself. It still felt good to try to get out of my head and to focus on one thing for one hour. One of the instructors actually jokes before class that her goal is to make us forget everything else that we have to do that day. Yes! I’m all for that.
The unemployment stress is dissolving. The constant nagging fear is dissipating. But I think I learned a helpful thing along the way. I learned how to focus and how to push myself (I didn’t hurt myself badly, a few days of VERY sore muscles). I don’t think I’m ADD or anything, but I sometimes have a tough time focusing on one thing to completion. If adopting a persona helps me get there I don’t think it’s a bad thing.
Now, if I could just channel Peter Walsh to get my house in order I’d be golden!
February 20th, 2009 at 1:21 am
I like it! I know exactly what you are talking about. I remember extremely stressful days with three little ones. I would “channel” a very calm, put together mom, someone who knew what she was doing and someone who was very confident in who she was. Somedays it worked great, some days not so well. As a woman thinketh in her heart so is she!!