“THREE, TWO, ONE, GO!!”
I hated running. I dreaded it so much. I dreaded it more than class presentations. The monthly mile run we had to achieve under a certain time in highschool created anxiety and dread for me weeks before I reached the track. I hated running. I said it out loud. I declared that I hated running and if I could never run again, I would.
This past summer, I went on a two-week backpacking trip up to 13,000 feet in Nevada. I began backpacking my freshman year of college and refound a love for the outdoors. Each time I backpacked, I fell in love with my body. I became so proud of what my body could do when I put it under pressure. It was a mental and physical challenge where my mind and body had to be in sync.
Was running not a mental and physical challenge?
Maybe I could trick my brain into believing something I didn’t enjoy. I decided to put my theory to the test and head to my old, high school track.
“I love to run, this is good for me and I love my body because it gives me the strength to do this. I am grateful for the body I have to give me this ability. YOU’VE GOT THIS!”
Through the repetition of positivity rather than telling myself I hate running, I was incredibly shocked to find what I was capable of doing through overriding the pain through my positive talk. It seemed when I spoke negativity to myself, it made the pain worse than it was and unbearable. Positive talk seemed to have a correlation with alleviating the stress I was putting my body under. Even though I did not believe them at first, over time my mind and body began to show what they could do when they were in alignment. Through this strategy, I accomplished running a mile each week and my first TWO miles in less than a month. I was incredibly proud of myself and shocked as to how this worked.
Many times, we go to the gym to work out for the sake of losing a few pounds or because we want to alter a part of ourselves we don’t accept. How about changing those thoughts to loving your body for the strength it gives you. Your thoughts will become your life, regardless of whether you are conscious of them or not. Become conscious of your self-talk and change them to be who you want to become.
Our fitness journey is as much as a physical one as it is mental.
If you enjoyed this article, feel free to check out more BELOW!
H&M: Body positive or not?
http://www.hercampus.com/school/sonoma-state/hm-body-positive-or-not
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Rainy Day Activities
http://www.hercampus.com/school/sonoma-state/rainy-day-activities