Haters

                         

One of my favorite tracks is Bring Me Down by Kanye West: "If you ever wanted to ever be anything, it'll always be somebody to shoot down any dream. It'll always be haters that's the way it is. Hater dudes marry hater chicks and have hater kids."

 Recently when I said that the gym was my new boyfriend (I like to speak in illustrations because that's just how I do) my associate said "Oh how sad. This is your distraction since you're single." Ironically this chick is single as the day is long, but I digress. There's this notion that being fully invested in something makes you strange. The same is true of my devotion to improving my health and appearance. Yet it's always directed at me from people who are not making an effort to do the same.
I think these people all suffer from a sickness in their thinking. Here's a few of the most common syndromes.




1. The Ulterior Motive Syndrome 
This one is the one which I encounter most often.  The thought that you cannot possibly be working out and eating right because you enjoy living and not taking a handful of pills daily. I mean, there's just no way you can actually be doing it for the endorphin rush. You MUST be exercising because a) you trying to get a man b) you have a man and you trying to keep him c)you need a distraction from the fact that you have no man d) you just have lots of spare time on your hands e)all of the above....when you have the syndrome it makes sense somehow.

2. The Black People Don't Be Doin' Dat Syndrome  
People with this condition believe that we can never break free from our slave-era eating habits. We can only eat the scraps and things cooked in lard. These people equate soul food with blackness and therefore salad gets the side eye. People with this syndrome believe that a diet based on fruits and vegetables is eating "rabbit food" and is not staying true to being a black person.
     I love kale, collard and mustard greens. And a good mac and cheese....yes ma'am! But do I need to eat sweet potato pie and mac and cheese on a regular basis? Not at all. Maybe 2 or 3 times a year is it for me simply because I enjoy not having high cholesterol and diabetes. If that makes me less black, then call me Becky honey!

3. The Crabs in a Barrel Syndrome   
These people are the most obvious with their syndrome. They feel like if they can't do it, you can't either. You know someone has this syndrome when they tell you all the reasons you shouldn't try to be healthier. They're actually doing this in an effort to make themselves feel better about their failure to do better.

4.  The You Ain't on My Level Syndrome 
 The symptoms of this are refusal to acknowledge your progress when others comment on it, stank eye (see side eye above) and an inability to engage in positive conversation about food or exercise. You'll know someone has this when you discuss your triumphs to be met with all the reasons why you actually haven't succeeded at all.

Have you met people with any of these? Comment below!