The alarm went off at 5:00am and I didn’t want to move. I’d been awake since 4:15am from a bizarre dream and I had not been able to get back to sleep. I’m not a very good morning person, so every morning before I even get out of bed, I list things in my head that I’m grateful for…this helps shift my negative thoughts into positive thoughts and helps me get my day started right. This morning, even though I was “blessed” with an additional 45 minutes to think about all my blessings, I struggled. I whined. I just wanted more sleep. I couldn’t wait any longer, the dog needed her daily walk, so I got up and got moving. During my walk, I like to reflect and prepare for my day. In my heart, I knew that I should really run this morning, but my mind was trying to fill me up with some good excuses not to run, starting with the excuse that I didn’t get enough sleep! Typically, I would shift the timing of my run to the evening, but we had plans ,so I knew that if I didn’t do it this morning, it wouldn’t happen. I made the decision to run! Here’s where it gets good!
I’ve been running a lot with my husband this summer, who recently pointed out to me that my first mile is always slow. He encouraged me to correct that by starting at a faster pace, and I nicely said, “no.” My running motto is that I run to get it done. I run, rather than walk, because I can get more done in less time, therefore it is an efficiency thing. But here is the thing, the more I ran with him, the faster I was getting it done, thus being more efficient with my time. Right? I decided to do a timed run, so I prepared for a victory. I told myself that I was going to conquer my tiredness and have an awesome run. I prepared my Map My Run app, checked the timing on my VivoFit and plugged into my motivational music. I was ready. The first mile went quickly, in fact, I couldn’t believe it, the second mile was even faster and the last mile was my best time ever. As I walked to cool down, I reflected on how on earth, I could do this and here are my conclusions.
First, my husband challenged me. He saw something in me that I couldn’t believe or see, and he kept encouraging me along the way. He knew that I could do better.
The second thing I had in place was an accountability system. I believe that you not only need an accountability partner or coach, but you also need tools that will support you when you are on the journey alone. I use Map My Tracks app and my VivoFit. They don’t lie, and the information they give me pushes me to achieve my goals.
Lastly, I’ve really had to learn to kick out the negative thoughts from my head. For years I told myself that I couldn’t run. YEARS! I believed those lies. Now, I recognize when I’m having negative thoughts and change them to uplifting messages. Everyone is different, but I love quoting one of my favorite Bible verses, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13. My other powerful motivation, don’t laugh…is the theme song from the movie Rocky. This one is particularly useful when running up a hill!
Each day we face challenges. Maybe it is the challenge of not getting enough sleep, deadlines, negative environments, financial worries or health concerns…challenges. What we must all learn, is to not let the challenges control and strip us of our happiness or lose focus of our goals in life.
What tools do you need in your tool box to find success and accomplish greatness?
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