I love this quote bc it dives way deeper than what the cliches are about strength. When we hear strength we think of muscles…performance. Even when it comes to emotional strength we think of stick-to-it-iveness. We think of mental performance in the face of adversity.
But when we dive deeper – think about how we believe, based on the images above, if something in life impacts us emotionally, that strength is – the person who can SMILE or be the TOUGH one, & continue through w that mask, even when they feel awful.
Clint Eastwood come to mind in terms of strength? George Jefferson or even Archie Bunker before him on the smaller screen? What about TV in the 50s where privately we knew ppl were struggling w personal stuff in the scripts (Ralph Kramden from the Honeymooners…Lucy from I Love Lucy)…but publicly they would go out to “the club, or the lodge,” with their caked on smiles. These are images we have seen in movies & on TV our whole lives about what’s strong or tough or maybe in some cases how they’re “unaffected” by things actually going on around them.
Guess what we don’t see on those shows or in those characters? We don’t see the silent accumulation of stress & trauma. We don’t see how it ravages the body both mentally AND physically.
We also don’t see characters who open up & share, portrayed as strong. Portrayed as leaders. Portrayed as people who have fought hard battles, are SO attractive bc of their openness…& end up being even stronger after they’ve gone through what they’ve gone through & come out the other side.
Hollywood & TV execs need to rewrite the scripts. Those of you/us in the know, need to keep telling ppl how strong, brave, sexy, macho, attractive, compelling it is WHEN we open up…bc isn’t it? That’s not a campaign, that’s a reality.
