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Episode: 301
Monday, November 2, 2020
Anna Geary on Positive Body Image, Dealing with Insecurities and The Importance of Self-Care!
Today on the podcast:
In this episode, Brian speaks with Anna Geary, a multiple all-Ireland winning camogie player, television personality and radio broadcaster. A lot of you will recognize her voice from radio broadcasting and recognize her face as that of one of the coaches on RTE’s Ireland’s Fittest Family. She uses her Instagram page to promote the message of well-being, mindset and over health in general.
Anna and Brian first met for a promotional event for WellFest in 2018, and later that year Brian was guest referee on Ireland’s Fittest Family where Anna was a coach. Since then, Brain and Anna have had multiple conversations and catch-ups (off air) which allowed us to go deeper on some of the topics in today’s podcast.
Today’s episode is sponsored by
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Episode outline
- 05:04 Anna’s journey in fitness and media
- 09:50 Turning negatives into positives and mistakes into learning experiences
- 14:32 Anna’s decision-making process
- 19:36 What to do if you’re working at a job you hate
- 28:10 Cultivating a healthy body image
- 39:00 How to stop comparing yourself to the past version of you
- 45:08 Assessing what you want versus what you need
Key points
- Your why is your foundation and anchor in every decision you make. Even with a high-profile career like Anna’s, every big decision she made always took into account her purpose and core values. Sometimes, making the right choice isn’t black or white, and may ultimately rely on your gut. That’s also why it’s important to remember that life involves “fine-tuning” your trajectory every once in a while, to make sure that the path you’re currently on is really the one that makes you the happiest. Make those adjustments as needed, but always, always fall back on your why.
- If, particularly as a female athlete, you feel insecure about looking bigger or more muscular than your counterparts, try to look at your body from the point of view of what it can do versus how it looks. Anna was a contestant on Dancing with the Stars and performed as a woman who was particularly muscular. She always preferred to focus on the good that her physique did for herself—the increased health and fitness that she had built up—rather than focusing on the fact that she did not look like the other girls around her. As long as she could perform, that’s what really mattered. “It would be pretty boring if we all look the same,” Anna adds.
- Be aware of the power of language. If you find yourself thinking, “This pair of jeans doesn’t fit me anymore,” add, “Well, I’ll make them fit again. If they don’t, I’ll buy a new pair of jeans.” Life will move on whether we want it to or not, and the only thing we can do is to decide how we proactively—or reactively—accustom ourselves to where life takes us.
Powerful Quotes by Anna
- Even if I’m competing with a physically stronger girl, I can come out on top if I have the stronger mindset.
- Sport always taught me that making a mistake is never a weakness, because at least you had the courage to try. For me, the real weakness lies in never giving anything a go.
- If your why is strong enough, you can’t go wrong.
- Look at your body in terms of what it can do, as opposed to how it looks—looking at it as an instrument, instead of an ornament.
- Thinking about something is often worse than doing it.
- It’s easier to add something in as opposed to cutting it out.
- Perfection is exhausting.