What We Can Learn From The Biggest Loser’s Ashley

As you know, I’m a self-confessed addict of The Biggest Loser.  I never make it through an episode without crying, laughing out loud, and feasting on high levels of inspiration and motivation.  And that’s all before the first commercial break.  This show is in a league of its own. It’s one of the few truly important shows on television and one of few that I’d totally recommend to anyone and everyone.  It can change your life.

This has been one of the best seasons of The Biggest Loser yet.  There hasn’t been one single contestant that I wanted to drop kick to Kansas (Remember Tracy?). In fact, each elimination has kind of smarted and a few brought tears.  Any of these remaining 4 could be – and should be – the winner.

I’ve got nothing but love for the entire group, but there’s one particular contestant that I fell hard for:  Ashley.  What a doll! As the mother of three girls, I’m always a bit partial to young girls.  When they’re on the show, I pull for them with the same passion I shop for coffee with. There’s something extra special about this girl, though, and it’s all in her beautiful personality. She and her gorgeous smile have lit up this entire season and I guess I always knew that there’d be a future “Ashley post.”

Understandably, these contestants are going through huge, emotional changes.  They’ve been uprooted and forced to face – head on – past mistakes and unhealthy lifestyles.  We cry as they cry, we curse fatty, fried foods with them, and we feel their pain when they see the original number on the scale.

They struggle with challenges – especially early on.  Again, understandably. They get frustrated and some lash out while others cry. Some, like Daris  just summon up fresh, newly-found courage and charge right through it.  My girl, Ashley, fell countless times early on.  How she kept from really hurting herself is beyond me.

But she kept getting back up.  And what’s truly remarkable – none of it ever took her personality away and it never wiped the smile off of her beautiful face.  She seemed to always be extremely thankful for being on the show and always ready to give it her all.

In the last episode, the contestants were watching early clips of themselves.  Like most past contestants, the  rest of these contestants cried at the sight of their former selves.  Ashley smiled.  That struck a chord with me.  She didn’t seem to detest the old Ashley – she knew that she was still a beautiful, vivacious, fun, spirited, and lovely girl.   In a clip that was about to show one of her epic falls, Ashley laughed and said something like, “Here it comes!”

She’s having fun with life and that’s probably the number one trait I’m drawn to in people.

I realize that it’s risky to write an article or tribute like this when the season isn’t quite through – I mean my girl could go all swamp girl psycho in the next episode. Hopefully she won’t go to the dark side.. there are far too many people there already.

Personally, I think she’ll finish as beautifully as she started.

We can learn something from Ashley’s attitude and upbeat personality.  Our situation shouldn’t dictate our personality or our happiness.  We should be who we are regardless of what’s happening to us or around us.  You can tell Ashley would be a fun person to be around.  She wouldn’t mope around, complain, or wallow in misery or self-pity.  Since she is human, I’m sure she’d have her moments – but I’m also sure she’d have the humor and spirit to overcome them in record time.

At the first of the season, Ashley seemed like a complete underdog.  There was something about her, though, that told me she’d be around for a while.  There was a certain determination and focus in her eyes – plus, whenever she fell she didn’t yell at Jillian or snap at Bob.  She didn’t  whine.

She just got up.

At one point she was talking to the camera (how odd must that feel?) about how she knew she was considered the underdog.  Her smile and her words made her an all-time favorite of mine.  She said, “I’m going to sneak up like a ninja on their a$$es.”

And she did.

She did a couple of other things too:

• She reminds us all that life is beautiful and is worthy of embracing whether we feel like we’re on top of the world or not.  No matter what we think we have that is so hideous, there are always others who have it far worse.
• With her beautiful face, stylish clothes, and perfect hair, Ashley proves that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes.
• Her sense of humor and upbeat personality show that if a girl can smile  while climbing such a huge mountain (with falls along the way!), there’s no excuse for the rest of us.
• Ashley seemed, to me, to be almost like a tonic to her friends.  When she was around Mike and Daris, they seemed happier.  We should all have that effect on people around us.  They should leave our presence happier than they were when they first entered it.  Are you a tonic or a wet blanket?
• What others think of us or expect from us isn’t what counts. The only thing that matters is what WE think of us and expect from us.
  

Who, or what, would you like to sneak up on like a Ninja?  Whatever it is…. disarm it with your smile, jump back up when you fall, and believe in yourself.