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Redefining Strength
I want to change our perception of strength. Strength is the ability to meet resistance and influence an outcome without compromising ourselves. And we already have it.
Strength is not an attribute; it’s a state of being. Gladiators, bodybuilders, and football players demonstrate strength through brute force, sheer willpower, muscle mass, and relentless pursuit. But we’re also quick to identify dancers and martial artists as strong. Their medium taps into a sense of vulnerability, balance, alignment, controlled power, and grace—but no one can deny their strength. Strength may look different on each of us, but it is an inherent part of who we are.
You are not weak by nature; you are stronger than you think. Your strength is not something you need to kill yourself to gain—it is already within you, waiting to be excavated. The key is to stop chasing something you already have and tap into it, so you can manifest that strength in your everyday life.
Because we don’t think we’re strong, we approach resistance with the idea that we’re not enough. We throw everything we have at it and push past our physical, mental, and emotional limitations. We see strength as domination, but it’s not.
When you learn to listen to your body’s divine wisdom, you cultivate a sense of where your body is developing tension instead of standing in its strength. You end the vicious cycle of unrealistic expectations, injury, and self-criticism and learn how to consciously embrace responsible growth. You stop compartmentalizing your strength into emotional, physical, and mental pieces and operate from the strength of your being at all times.
You learn how to align yourself with gravity—instead of working against it—so you can channel your strength to meet life’s resistance. As you meet resistance with equal parts power and alignment, you transform tension into strength
As in the sword dance above, the power lies in bringing just the right amount of force—not too little and not too much. By meeting the sword’s weight, I meet gravity. I am tapped into a larger source of energy, free of tension, and discover a strength that is wholly and uniquely mine.
About Tammy Wise
Give Yourself the Gift of Strength
by Tammy WiseThere are those who believe that pushing their strength to the absolute maximum is the requirement to be strong. Others believe that if they conserve their energy they’ll be strong. The truth is, strength lies right in the middle.
If your strength-training workout is so heavy that you feel yourself as weak, you’re building as much tension as strength. If your strength-training workout is so light that you feel yourself bored or unchallenged, you’re taxing your joints more than building muscle.
So how do you know when your workouts are just the right intensity?
When it comes to strength training there are two principle components to consider: bones and muscles.
Together these considerations allow you to connect to a challenge and create a change without compromising yourself. This is strength!
Next time you’re in the gym, let your enthusiasm inspire you to experience feeling strong, rather than chasing or saving strength.
To be strong is to live in it! Feel it in the moment of challenge; feel it in your relationship with resistance; feel it in the temperance to prove yourself.
Stop chasing strength and experience it with ease!