Why are we impressed by the bare minimum? I’m not saying it’s right or wrong. Or that we should or should not change. I’m just looking into what the deal is here.
There’s this mailman in the town I work in who is good looking. Once I sent a picture of him to my friend and said I was appreciative of him — and if you didn’t know, I really want to be a mailman someday. I think that’s so cool and I would study my butt off for the postal exam.
I didn’t know anything about this man besides that he has sleeve of tattoos, is a mailman (or does a really good job pretending), is between 30 and 40 and, most importantly, wears knee braces.
That was the part that most caught our attention: the knee braces. My friend said wow I love that he’s caring for himself. I said me too that’s huge and they said Why do I think the bare minimum is attractive. And I said OOOOOOHHHH (in my brain) but I texted No I think actually they are going above the bare minimum.
Um, that intrigued me: Why are we impressed by someone caring for themselves? Since when is taking basic care of ourselves “above the bare minimum”? And ultimately, what’s wrong with us?
Here’s what I’ve come up with:
We’re wowed
Seeing others care for themselves is inspiring and refreshing. In a time where we equate success with money and professional status, busy to mean productivity, time to mean money, and resting as a means to become more productive, this person said no wait I’m going to do my job but not at the expensive of my knees and joints (analogously: myself).
We’re raging
By choosing to care for himself, he chose to rage against the machine. While he could workworkwork, then take a bath to care for his joints (?? is this how you do that?), he said actually I’m just going to wear knee braces as I work. Stick it to the man!
We’re either-or
A lot of times we see the two extremes: We’ve got the people that do not care for themselves well when they (may) have the resources to do so at their disposal. I’m talking like being totally exhausted but having ample time to sleep and choosing not to, and not for mental health reasons either. And then the other side: the people who are too good. They, like, exercise and drink water routinely. With bare minimum people, we’re like Finally! Someone in the middle! Which, in fact, is where the majority of us are.
We’re in the same league
To me that knee brace means he’s hanging in the middle with me. So, waving my hands frantically at the tatted mailman, I yelled HEY I’m there too. Because we’re in the same “league” of caring for ourselves. (Side note: While in fact most of us are in the middle, how do we always end up dating a person on either side of the extreme? Let me know in the comments.)
All in all, if you see me drinking water or documenting my healthy sleep schedule on Instagram next week, mind your business. I’m normalizing the bare minimum.
Why are we impressed by the bare minimum?
Why are we impressed by the bare minimum? I’m not saying it’s right or wrong. Or that we should or should not change. I’m just looking into what the deal is here.
There’s this mailman in the town I work in who is good looking. Once I sent a picture of him to my friend and said I was appreciative of him — and if you didn’t know, I really want to be a mailman someday. I think that’s so cool and I would study my butt off for the postal exam.
I didn’t know anything about this man besides that he has sleeve of tattoos, is a mailman (or does a really good job pretending), is between 30 and 40 and, most importantly, wears knee braces.
That was the part that most caught our attention: the knee braces. My friend said wow I love that he’s caring for himself. I said me too that’s huge and they said Why do I think the bare minimum is attractive. And I said OOOOOOHHHH (in my brain) but I texted No I think actually they are going above the bare minimum.
Um, that intrigued me: Why are we impressed by someone caring for themselves? Since when is taking basic care of ourselves “above the bare minimum”? And ultimately, what’s wrong with us?
Here’s what I’ve come up with:
We’re wowed
Seeing others care for themselves is inspiring and refreshing. In a time where we equate success with money and professional status, busy to mean productivity, time to mean money, and resting as a means to become more productive, this person said no wait I’m going to do my job but not at the expensive of my knees and joints (analogously: myself).
We’re raging
By choosing to care for himself, he chose to rage against the machine. While he could workworkwork, then take a bath to care for his joints (?? is this how you do that?), he said actually I’m just going to wear knee braces as I work. Stick it to the man!
We’re either-or
A lot of times we see the two extremes: We’ve got the people that do not care for themselves well when they (may) have the resources to do so at their disposal. I’m talking like being totally exhausted but having ample time to sleep and choosing not to, and not for mental health reasons either. And then the other side: the people who are too good. They, like, exercise and drink water routinely. With bare minimum people, we’re like Finally! Someone in the middle! Which, in fact, is where the majority of us are.
We’re in the same league
To me that knee brace means he’s hanging in the middle with me. So, waving my hands frantically at the tatted mailman, I yelled HEY I’m there too. Because we’re in the same “league” of caring for ourselves. (Side note: While in fact most of us are in the middle, how do we always end up dating a person on either side of the extreme? Let me know in the comments.)
All in all, if you see me drinking water or documenting my healthy sleep schedule on Instagram next week, mind your business. I’m normalizing the bare minimum.
P.S. in case we haven’t met…
you seem normal is a mental health medium run by 24-year-old communication professional (hello!) who… well, seems normal. Turns out, my roommate is mental illness. Actually more like my unborn, and non-conceived baby. Because it’s like, inside of me. This is getting weird already. Topics of focus: self-awareness (we love it), mood, anger management, perfectionism, relationships & boundaries.
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