My son suggested we go for a walk yesterday. He was kidding. I did go, though. That’s three days in a row so it’s looking like I’m getting back to normal again. Just have to say that after not walking for over a week, Thursday’s walk made me realize how quickly we lose what we don’t use. Ouch!

I started to take some photos and realized the batteries in the camera were dead. That problem is solved now so I’ll have to get out there today and take some. I could’ve said, “maybe I’ll get out there and take some,” but I’m learning that thoughts and words have a profound effect on the outcome of our lives. By simply changing “maybe” to “I’ll have to” I’ve set myself up for success because I’ve told myself I’m going to do it. My attitude is completely different.  Instead of thinking of my walk as optional I’m planning the best time to go.

I used to hate exercising, but now I love it and the workouts I do now are more challenging. If anything, you’d think I’d hate it even more, but I took Chalene Johnson’s advice and started telling myself I love it. There are times when the workouts feel especially tough. Instead of thinking, “I can’t do this today. I just don’t have the energy,” I tell myself I can do it and that I’m fine. It may sound crazy, but it works. And not just with exercise. We can change our perspective on anything by replacing negative thoughts with positive ones.

I’m realizing that I need to expand my ability to do this to other areas of my life. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking and talking about how I’m not organized or good at keeping the apartment clean because of my background. I’m not saying that those things weren’t true, but now I’m going to tell myself that I’m awesome at organizing and cleaning. Does that mean that suddenly everything will be perfect? No, but now instead of focussing on what I can’t do I’ll be looking for ways to be better.

In the past, I’ve had a pattern of starting things and then not finishing them. I think it’s fairly normal to not finish every single thing we start, but once I had given myself that label I became “the person who never finishes anything” which set me up for failure. Now I’m going to be “the person who follows through and finishes things.” No doubt the temptation will arise to quit things when they get hard, but now I know how to push through it. Instead of telling myself I might as well give up because that’s what I always do I can talk to myself the same way I would a friend who is tempted to quit something worthwhile.

The Golden Rule says treat others the way you want to be treated. I think there’s a flip side to that. Treat yourself the way you want other people to treat you. If a friend kept telling me I might as well give up because that’s what I always do or I can’t do something because I don’t have what it takes to succeed I would be seriously offended and probably wouldn’t be their friend very long. But that’s exactly the kind of stuff we tell ourselves on a regular basis. We need to learn to be our own biggest cheerleader and stop sabotaging ourselves. When the negative thoughts start to seep in and take over we have to make a conscious effort to fight them off. Thoughts are only as real as the actions we take because of them. If the thought crosses the mind of a successful person that they’re not successful does that make it true? Not unless they allow themselves to believe it and stop doing the things that have made them a success.

I dare you to try it. Identify something negative you continually tell yourself that keeps you from doing something you want or need to and start telling yourself the opposite. If you find yourself thinking it won’t work, you’re still doing it. Cut it out. Adjust your attitude so it’s positive. You CAN do this. Now I’m going to go for a walk, just like I said I would. 🙂