“The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being
can alter their lives by altering their attitude.”
William James, Philosopher.
At Long Run Collective our priority is training for the body but more importantly the mind and how to find a balance between the two. It is not always easy and it is never a case of ‘job-done’, but both Georgie and Susie believe staying healthy and happy in a sustainable fashion is the way of the future.
Take control of your thoughts for the long run
Negative thinking can have a strong and sometimes devastating impact on all aspects of your life, including your health & fitness goals.
Getting drawn into a pattern of negative thinking can be likened to building a prison in your own mind. It holds you captive.
If you find yourself repeatedly telling yourself something negative like ‘I can’t reach that PB’ or ‘I’ll never be as fit as the others’ your brain looks for all kinds of evidence to support that belief. Over time you convince yourself that the statement is true by gathering examples of all of the times you have self-sabotaged your journey or, past training attempts that did not go to plan. Eventually you lose hope in ever being faster, fitter and resign yourself to a mindset full of doubts.
Attempting to change your fitness becomes impossible when living in this negative state of mind because you have already set yourself up to fail.
However, the brilliant thing about your brain is that you can choose to change your thoughts at any time, which in turn will help you change your body and life.
“Being positive does not mean ignoring the negative.
Being positive means overcoming the negative.”
Ralph Marston, professional footballer
Here at Long Run Collective we use our own experiences to support & guide our athletes to make those changes.
By overcoming negative thought patterns with new positive ones, you create new neurological pathways and can literally rewire your brain.
How?
It is as simple as noticing your thoughts, identifying whether they are supportive and then choosing to change anything that might be holding you back.
So from today this is exactly what we want you to start practicing…
Please do not underestimate the power and impact this can have when it comes to your success!
Here’s what we would like you to do;
- Become an observer of your thoughts
- Pay attention to your thoughts and do a quick survey – are they predominantly negative?
- Recognise that thoughts are simply just thoughts – it is what we attach to them that matters.
- Create an element of detachment from your thoughts. YOU are not your thoughts.
- You can change your thoughts at any time. Take control and see how it feels.
The mind can be likened to a record playing the same habitual tunes over and over. Through lack of awareness, the record can continue playing simply because it has a certain momentum and it is used to moving in the familiar grooves.
By bringing your conscious attention to your thinking patterns, you bring in a new higher dimension of awareness – you become mindful. You are able to step back from the thoughts and become the silent watcher. In this way, thoughts (and emotions) immediately start to lose their hold over you.
Do you hear yourself say….
“I’ll never be able to be as fast as I was when I was younger.”
“I have not got time to train for a triathlon.”
“I’m getting older, therefore injury and weight gain are part of this.”
We would like you to recognise that these are just thoughts. They are not facts. They do not own you or dictate your decisions.
As you observe your thoughts, you start to become aware and the doubts start to lose their strength and control over you.
Start by simply staying present as the watcher.
- Watch what you tell yourself.
- Don’t believe all of your thoughts.
- Don’t take them all that seriously.
- See thoughts as merely inner objects that do not control your actions.
- Choose to change your thinking so it is constructive rather than destructive.
- Replace any negative thoughts you have about yourself and your fitness and health, with positive thoughts.
For instance, if you have an injury that is preventing you from training at the moment, observe what you are thinking. If it is along the lines of; “I will never shift this injury” how about training your thoughts to say;
“I WILL fight this injury.”
“I am being smart, patient and taking positive steps to be injury free for good.”
“It is in my control and I have the power to do this.”
“I am loving this journey. It won’t last long. How lucky am I to have this challenge.”
We would also like you to start picturing the life you envisage for yourself when you have reached your goal; in this instance overcoming the injury.
Now when inevitable negative thoughts do arise in your day, you are able to become aware of them and then replace them with some fresh, positive emotions and use your thoughts constructively.
Awareness
We know that this is not a ‘quick fix’ method of turning around your mindset of doubts but we do know that it is tried and tested method, that from personal experience works.
If you enjoyed reading this blog and would like to learn more about how Georgie & Susie’s coaching could support your mindset and training please get in touch at longruncollective@gmail.com.