Everyone Needs a Minion
Jan 06 11:07 AM

Everyone Needs a Minion

Jan 06 11:07 AM
Jan 06 11:07 AM

Everyone has heard of the Minions, the little yellow guys that hung around with Gru in Despicable Me, right? Minions are more than just yes men, they are YAY men. No matter how bad an idea Gru has, they literally go bananas like it's the best idea in the history of ever! Steal the moon? Hell yeah baby, let's do this thing! All we need is a shrink ray! Check out their response to the steal the moon idea in this clip.  

The Icants are the exact opposite of Minions, they are the little guys that live in my head and tell me I can't do things. Oddly enough, they gain strength from my weakness, from my failures, from me quitting and most often from me not even trying.  I think it's something that all of us that have suffered with obesity can relate to. “I can't fly” because of the looks other passengers have when I get on the plane, they might as well stand up and scream “Dear Lord NO! Please don't let the fat guy sit next to me!” Even though I've lost a lot of weight the Icants insist on still screaming the thoughts people aren't thinking when I get on a plane. They love it when I can't and they are the kryptonite of Today I Can.

A couple of years ago I rode in a rally called the Richardson Wild Ride, but I did not adequately prepare for it. I rode too far the night before because I thought everyone was going to keep an easy pace. When we got going it was obvious nobody remembered the talk of an easy pace and we all roared off like we were going to win the thing, my legs weren’t fully recovered, we hit the hills and I fell off the back end after a couple of climbs. Immediately I returned to the kid in junior high who finished last in every track meet, I can’t keep up with these other guys, I can’t do this, I can’t climb as fast, I can’t ride this fast and I ended up being right. Not because I wasn’t physically ready but because I said those two little words that are one of the key ingredients of every missed opportunity. I said “I can’t”

There is an other weapon in the Icants arsenal, it's the most effective one they have and that is the demeaning nature of being overweight. The name calling, the insults, the comparison to pigs, etc. You have all seen the memes, the jokes and you know what I mean. It's the last stronghold for insensitive jokes, we know we shouldn't make racial jokes or be insensitive to one's sexual orientation, you can get fired for that but if a guy is overweight, throw out the rule book and start slinging and it hurts. If you make a racist comment about African Americans, they won't become more African American, but if you make a fat joke, the fat guy will probably eat. He's hurt, I wrote a post on my perspective on food and in that I shared how I reacted to emotional pain, eat a cheeto. The fat guy will get fatter, it's the sad truth.

A few weeks ago the hosts on a local sportsradio station talked about their frustrations with cyclists and said some things that set off the cycling community, it was irresponsible but they apologized on air and on Facebook. I was devastated to read what the responses to their posts were like, if they were African Americans and posted that apology on a white supremist website, the responses wouldn't have been as bad. They apologized and my fellow cyclists hurled insults at them, like that was going to fix them. I was so disappointed but I wasn't surprised. I know how those guys feel reading it and I would like to apologize to them and encourage them to shut out the Icants and to realize that it isn't okay to demean others for their weight but that's societies fault, their weight is their issue and they can do something, the insults can't stop them. The same guy that is driven to consume too much food can turn that drive toward something else. He can, it's a life and death decision for him.

As I prepare for this weekends Hotter than Hell Hundred, there are a lot of Icant’s that say a lot of lies. I still have weight to lose and when i get on a bike and bend over, my belly sticks out and I hear all those jokes in my head. The Icants are there to remind me that I cramped up at 64 miles last year, after my fastest start ever and that I cramped up the year before that, they are there to tell me Icant do it because of setbacks I had before. The only one that I should listen to is the one that says I can’t listen to them. I know I can do it. I’m sure there are lots of you with Icants that are keeping you from being all you were created to be. Before you can, you got to shut up the Icants, they are tougher than big hills, big winds, or high heat.

1 comment

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Jim

Well said. I think you finished the Wild Ride just fine.

Posted on Thu, Aug 25, 2016 @ 5:11 PM CST

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Ford Baker is a CPA and entrepreneur. He's passionate about helping CPAs gain balance and understand that they can live healthy and balanced lives while having successful careers.

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