Why I Pay Special Attention to What I Tell Myself

I have a lot of thoughts in my head. Many serve me very well.  

Some don’t.  I refer to anything in my head that holds me back, as “clutter”. 

Recently, I made an observation.  For most of my life, I was not a runner.   I tried to run track as a child, but I didn’t like running.   I was okay, but it was uncomfortable, and I got bored.   From early on I told myself that I was just not made for running. 

Ten years ago, a friend asked if I would start running with her. “No, I am not a runner”’ I replied.  She encouraged me to try.   We started slow, with a short distance, and then overtime built on that and eventually I did my first half marathon. 

Over the years, I have run consistently about 15 miles a week and have done several races.  Now I enjoy running. It is one of my favorite things.  However, there is one thought I recognized the other day before I set out to run. Every time I leave, I think I hope I finish my run today because I am not a runner. 

I calculated the number of miles I have run over a decade - somewhere around 8,000. It is interesting to me that I continue to tell myself this untruth.  It got me thinking about other concepts I think about myself that may not be true and yet I still believe.

In order to reroute this thinking, I asked myself these questions: 

• What ideas do I believe about myself from my childhood or past that may not be serving me anymore? 

• What evidence do I have that this thought is true? 

• What benefits would I receive from letting this concept go to make room for something new? 

• What thought or idea can I replace for this thought that doesn’t serve me now?

Since that moment of realization, I still have that untrue thought each time I head out. However, now I replace it with a visualization of how strong and happy I can be on a run, and instead I think I AM a runner. 

Do you know what? The miles I have logged since that time have been some of my best.