Negativity
By L. Finch
What do you do when the thoughts in your head scream “NO”, “CAN’T” or even “YOU’RE STUPID FOR EVEN TRYING”? I fight those fights almost daily. Do you?
I especially fight them when I need to go running. It’s almost like breaking a bad habit – not running – and trying to replace it with a good one – running. See, the “voices” liked where I was before, sailing along with my life, not really making a difference or a change.
Let’s try to put this in a different light.
I cry every single time I see videos for the Disney Princess Half Marathon. Guess why. Yep, my little voice of “can’t” starts shouting in my ear, “No, you can’t do that. Running is only for special people, and guess what, you’re not it”. The voice then continues, “you skipped your workout two weeks in a row when you had a 5k coming up that you needed to PR in! Who are you to think that you could adhere to a half marathon training schedule!” and so on and so forth.
Today, though, something was different. As I watched the videos, I silently defeated the voices in my head with, “Next year, that’ll be me. Look at that toned woman running to the finish line – Next year, that’ll be me.” And you know what? The more I repeated it, the more I believed it and the quieter the voices became. After all, the problem wasn’t that I had negative self-talk going on, the problem was that I doubted my own abilities.
Think for a moment. What areas of your running do you doubt yourself? Hills? The final few miles? The preparation leading up to the race? (That’s me!) I’d encourage you to find a power word or phrase to use while you are doing… well, whatever it is that you think you “can’t”. Words like “fighter”, “courage”, or even “Going for Gold”. Google “mantras” for more ideas if you’re stumped.
I especially fight them when I need to go running. It’s almost like breaking a bad habit – not running – and trying to replace it with a good one – running. See, the “voices” liked where I was before, sailing along with my life, not really making a difference or a change.
Let’s try to put this in a different light.
I cry every single time I see videos for the Disney Princess Half Marathon. Guess why. Yep, my little voice of “can’t” starts shouting in my ear, “No, you can’t do that. Running is only for special people, and guess what, you’re not it”. The voice then continues, “you skipped your workout two weeks in a row when you had a 5k coming up that you needed to PR in! Who are you to think that you could adhere to a half marathon training schedule!” and so on and so forth.
Today, though, something was different. As I watched the videos, I silently defeated the voices in my head with, “Next year, that’ll be me. Look at that toned woman running to the finish line – Next year, that’ll be me.” And you know what? The more I repeated it, the more I believed it and the quieter the voices became. After all, the problem wasn’t that I had negative self-talk going on, the problem was that I doubted my own abilities.
Think for a moment. What areas of your running do you doubt yourself? Hills? The final few miles? The preparation leading up to the race? (That’s me!) I’d encourage you to find a power word or phrase to use while you are doing… well, whatever it is that you think you “can’t”. Words like “fighter”, “courage”, or even “Going for Gold”. Google “mantras” for more ideas if you’re stumped.
I really hope this helps you! If it doesn't, please consider leaving a comment below and Melissa and I will do our best to help you out.
Cheers!
L Finch
Liz is an off-and-on runner from Junction City KS. Her other hobbies include noveling, reading, and of course, fighting off the voices in her head. ;) Her next race is the Mother's Day 5k, check out her blog for more running thoughts!
1 comment:
This was such a great post
Post a Comment