I've been really becoming aware of how I talk to myself. It ain't good. I can push myself forward, I can lift a weight that one more time, but I rarely tell myself; "well done!".
I don't think this is uncommon in women, and we need to do something about it. The majority of women I know are so aware of where they fall short, but so many couldn't tell you what their strengths are. Its sad; no really, really sad.
I just ran (or mostly ran) a half marathon last weekend. I didn't prepare as well as I should have. I was sick the whole week before. Dave got called in to work at 5am the morning of, so I had to scramble to get a boy to watch Simon. I was running late and lost. My ankle was acting up. I almost said forget it but just kept plugging forward the way I do.
I got to the starting point and was just so unexcited. Figured, well I'm here I might as well do it. I started running and it was going well, feeling good and at one point I realized I was making great time. I made it to mile 9 feeling pretty good, but then I became aware of some physical things including the tongue of my shoe sitting on a nerve and making my toes numb, so I re-adjusted my shoes and re-tied them and got moving again; but I totally lost focus and just never got it back, so for the next 4 miles I just kind of ran/walked and never got my mojo back (and I had very little mojo to begin with).
I crossed the finish line so mad and disappointed, I was crying. I was a jerk and I was bad tempered. Hayden and Sydney took Simon to Sydney's house and Dave and I went and got the hamburger I said I was going to have after the race, I said it since the day I signed up. No kind words were making me happy about the outcome of this race. Then we went to get Simon and he was very happily wiggling on the floor at Sydney's house. Then it hit me, just hit me.
I can walk, I can sit up without assistance, I can crawl. I can lift, I can feed myself......I have a strong healthy body that just completed a half marathon. Not as fast as I wanted, not the way I wanted; but I just finished 13.1 miles and selfishly forgot how grateful I am to have the ability to do it at all. AT ALL. There are so many people who physically cannot even attempt a walk to the bathroom. There are people without fully working bodies who work around their challenges and compete in whatever their interest is. I'm not going to be the fastest or the fittest, but I can be proud of me for getting up and going out and doing it. Sometimes that is the biggest accomplishment of all.
There was a time I probably would have said to heck with it. I didn't this time and I finished. But this is just one example of so many things that we don't give ourselves credit for.
I challenge anyone who reads this to take some time, a good 30min or more and tel yourself all the good things you are and do. After that, remind yourself daily of what you do well and keep pushing yourself forward with good positive self talk. A strong mind is 90% of creating a strong body. (made up statistic but you get the gist)
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