Haters gonna hate: Dealing with negativity

I love bodybuilding.

I love bodybuilding for all it has taught me. I love bodybuilding for the people it has put me in contact with. I love bodybuilding because of the character traits it has strengthened within me.

There is more to it than that though; there is a positive association I've had with muscle and strength from a very young age, an innate desire to be big and strong. I can't tell you where it came from. Honestly, I have no need to know; to me it's normal.

Bodybuilding is nothing more than a personal pursuit that makes me happy. I know others share my love, and through years of study, work and experience I've managed to position myself to help them achieve their goals and pursue their happiness. So now bodybuilding is not only a personal endeavour, it's tied into my primary income. Essentially, I do what I love everyday.

Of course there are many that don't share my love. They may see me as different, odd or even gross. Some of these people are happy to voice their opinions; social media gives them an easy format to do so. When this happens it's important to acknowledge this is not a phenomenon unique to yourself, or bodybuilding in general.

Regardless of what you do, what passion you pursue, those that are different will be faced with negativity by those that do not understand. It's easy to say this is not your problem, it is theirs; it's sometimes more difficult to turn the other cheek. In reality, the feedback you receive will be overwhelmingly positive, so focus on those comments, acknowledge those people and keep doing what makes you happy.

In a world where negativity merely breeds more negativity, choose to focus on the love.

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