Positivity

Happy Hunp Day, new friends!! My name is Sarah, and I blog over at Sweet Miles. Aurora kindly offered to let me step into her blogosphere today and I’m so excited!

I thought long and hard about what to blog about for you guys, but decided to stick with something that’s relevant to my life right now: positivity.

If you’ve swung by my blog before, Sweet Miles, you’ve probably noticed that I’ve been on an optimism kick and it has finally paid off! I landed a job that I am honestly so excited about, and I know without a doubt that had I not gone about the search with a positive attitude, who knows what may have happened.

And then I got to thinking. That cheesy saying you hear growing up, “positivity goes a long way” really is true. Darn you parents that always told me to “see the glass half full.” You were right. You were always right.

Being a runner, it is nearly impossible to succeed with anything BUT a positive attitude. Running is so mental, and I could easily convince myself that I am incapable of running even a single mile if I think about it too much. Anyone else with me? All it takes is one negative thought in my mind, one inkling of doubt, and BAM, I’m done. I’m over it. I’ve failed. And the walk of shame back to my front door ensues. “I’ll make it up tomorrow,” is the common excuse I tell myself. (Secretly already coming up with an excuse for tomorrow’s run).

So why do I choose to continue a sport that is a constant mental battle? Why do I beat myself up over slow times and disastrous runs? Because the bad days make me appreciate the good days, and the good days make me appreciate the AWESOME days. When I’ve overcome my innermost self-doubts, achieved a goal I fought long and hard for, and came out feeling like the queen of the world, I know that it’s worth it and I’ve truly accomplished something. 

Beating self-doubts, and overcoming negative thoughts is sometimes more rewarding than the physical rewards of running a race. Yes, you PR’d, you ran more miles than you ever thought were possible, and you look FANTASTIC. But you know what you really did? YOU beat YOU. Your heart won, and those mental haters are a thing of the past.

“Think positive, and positive things will happen.” You’re not going to run that marathon if you REALLY think you can’t. And you’re not going to PR that 5K if you’ve already convinced yourself that it’s not happening. 

So, start thinking that you CAN. Start thinking that you WILL. Write down your race goals. Tell people about them. Shout them to the mountaintops because it’s amazing what you will accomplish when you DECIDE that it will happen. 

Here’s to changing that mindset of yours. Think positive, see yourself coming out on top, visualize yourself crossing that finish line at the exact time you want, and it will happen. 

And when it does, I want to hear all about it 

What do you struggle with when you run? And if you don’t run, what holds you back from achieving your fitness goals?

Thanks for having me, Aurora!