49. I was a competitive arm wrestler for a while, and my winningest day was beating six guys in a row at a pizza parlor in San Francisco.* It was so exhilarating that I did a victory lap with a jar of chili flakes raised high in my right hand like a torch.
Throughout my life, exercising my physical muscles has given me strength that’s mostly psychological (although it doesn’t hurt that I can also throw my carry-on bags into the overhead compartment with the accuracy of a baseball pitching machine). When I am physically strong, that strength also travels north to my brain, and I am more inclined to tackle, crush, and conquer the larger life hurdles in my path—like people who attempt to cut me in line for a hot dog at a Giants game. (Don’t even try.)
So I keep up a modest exercise routine to maintain my muscles, because the health benefits are too massive to ignore, and sometimes it’s my mind that needs the boost. Over the years I have enjoyed a good workout DVD at home, like P90X or just twenty push-ups on any flat surface,** and for the last nine years I have become a huge barre workout devotee.***
Mind your muscles. Even if you can’t see them, it’s about knowing they’re there to support you in your hour of need.
* Trent’s fourth-grade buddies were strong—but I was stronger.
** Once, when I met the staff at our boutique at the Mall of America, I gave ’em ten on the mall floor before saying hello. Outside the shop entrance. In a jungle-print jersey dress.
*** The Dailey Method and Physique 57 are my scene. (This is not an ad.)