Negative thoughts, we all have them. You know the thoughts I am talking about. The one’s that start in the back of your mind and slowly take over thinking for the day or the week or maybe even the month. Those thoughts that you need to tell to pipe it down because they have gotten to loud.
I’m not good enough, I’m not fast enough, I’m not enough… those thoughts seem to have only one volume level and it is blasting. These thoughts are usually accompanied by it’s good friend and counter part. If only. If only I had remembered to turn that assignment in, if only I had trained harder, if only and if only likes to bring his friend, I should have, I should have done that better, I should have taken more time. Pretty soon there is a whole party of negative thoughts flying around in your head bringing you down. You thought you told them to Pipe down but they only seem to get louder why?
Did you look at the people around you? are they on a negative track? are they having a pity party for one? Negativity takes on so many forms and comes at us from so many different directions that sometimes it is hard to realize that our negative thoughts have over taken the positive ones in our mind.
I didn’t hit my goal time for this run – can be turned into I ran my best and that is all I can ask of myself. That is just one example that I have. It is my personal example. I was talking with a friend about a run that I had over the weekend and they said “oh what was your pace?” and I said it was slow but I am happy that I was able to run and the conversation continued until I confessed the time and they were like so you basically ran at a turtle pace and I thought Yep and I am still proud of it.
If I took on their negativity I would not have gotten back out there the next day and double my distance. Pace didn’t matter what mattered is that I did it, that I tried, that I told the negative voice to pipe down. Trust me it is not always that easy, some days it is a knock down, drag out fight with the negative thoughts and some days the negative thoughts win.
The key is not to stay there. I’m not saying that you need to be “Pollyana” or “Mary Poppins” but watch where your thoughts take you. Is that where you want to be? Need to be? How do you fix it? Give yourself credit for what you have done. Be gentle with yourself. There is always another time to try. If you have to write down the positives of the day. Just give the positive thoughts a chance to flow.
Until next time,
Juli
Juli's Blog 