fighting doubt...

I received a message from a good college friend yesterday that I thought would make for a great reminder for us all about keeping a positive attitude. She ran a 10 mile race in Cleveland this past weekend and felt amazing at the finish line. No aches, no pains, happy to have finished. THEN she looked at her finish time from the same race last year. Poof… her positive energy was crushed by feelings of “not good enough.”

As humans, we are programmed to allow fear and doubt to creep in to our brains pretty much all the time.  The feeling of reaching our highest potential is bred into us and we can achieve great things when we have the right tools and the proper mindset. But whatever ever happened to just being happy knowing you did your best? Now with messages from the media telling us to be better, faster, and stronger will we always cross the finish line and say… “I could have done better”?

What I’m not saying is to settle for being mediocre. No, no, no! What I am telling you is to put your best foot forward and acknowledge yourself for a job well done when a JOB IS WELL DONE.

For athletes, remember that every time you go out for a run or swing a kettlebell there are millions of other people sitting on the couch. You’ve chosen to better yourself, to take yourself on. Be proud of that!

I’ve now ran three full marathons and still have yet to beat my time on the first one. BUT my 3^rd marathon was my favorite and THE BEST because I felt amazing. How many people can say they felt AMAZING while running 26.2 miles? Hell yeah, I’m proud of that.

Know when to push yourself but don’t ever tell yourself you are not good enough. Remember that YOU put the pressure on yourself. You can choose to let doubt and negativity creep in or you can slam the door in its face and bask in your accomplishments. (insert beer in hand) 

Cheers to that.

building confidence...

I have a friend named Stacey. She is RADICAL. Nothing about her is ordinary. She started doing something a while back that I HAVE to share. She would wear red lipstick whenever she wanted to bring out her sassy side. I view her act of self expression as a way to exude confidence. Confidence… something I WANT!

So this past Monday I went out for a jog on the TC Jester bike path. It was HOT. Texas is heating up…as usual. I was wearing shorts and a tee shirt and felt unusually hot. Too bad I’m not in good enough shape to shed my shirt! ::insert laughter:: Uh-oh. I just told myself I couldn’t do something because I’m not good enough. This is one of my trigger phrases. Whenever I hear it I absolutely want to DO it to prove a point. Shit… I have to take my shirt off in public.

It was around mile 2 and I still hadn’t taken it off. The voices in my head we’re pulling me in both directions. Do it, don’t do it, do it, don’t do it. Finally, I hit my breaking point and I stopped and ripped my shirt off, Incredible Hulk style! I ran .4 miles in just shorts and a sports bra. The feeling of wind on my sweaty skin was freeing. Confidence was creeping in. I let a cyclist pass me... That was enough for the day. I put my shirt back on and ran home. What sounds like a tiny step was actually BIG for me.

This little exercise reinforced my weight loss goal and gave me the confidence I needed to stay on track. 

What could you do for yourself that would push you out of your comfort zone? The results could be surprising. You will realize you probably won’t die if you do it (Yes, I feared death if I took my shirt off in public)

New goal: I run a full 3 mile loop at memorial park in shorts and a sports bra by August 2012.