This summer I am disengaging from nonstop education thinking and just clearing my mind, body, and soul. If you have followed me online so far this summer it is really been saturated with my training workouts, books I have been reading, and family. I have decided to train for a marathon. I have ran one several years ago when I was in shape, had less children, and my body was not in the state of terrible fitness it is currently.
So far, things have been going pretty good, but I have only been training for a few weeks.
To get my mind back in the mode to complete the runs, not miss workouts, and to make sure I don’t second guess myself when it comes to track workouts and long runs is the real challenge. These are the things that I am currently working with my kids.
My son is one who is not loaded with confidence and positive self image because he has yet to realize what potential he has inside him. Just the other night he was quite upset that he had to go to a basketball skills workout. He thinks he sucks. He thinks he is the worst player and that everyone looks at him. I tried to explain to him that he has the ability, but two things are holding him back.
- He does not believe in himself. 90% of being able to do the drills is to simply believe. I shared that just yesterday Ava finally decided enough was enough and she taught herself to ride her bike. She wanted zero help. I kept telling her to believe she can do it. Don’t doubt yourself when you start pedaling. Just keep pedaling. After 15 minutes she was riding up and down the street like a pro.
- It takes time. He was mad and arguing that he did on session and did not see improvement. I explained that one hour won’t make anyone a pro. This realization has come in my own life as well.
To reach our goals is not necessarily difficult… It just takes time.
And that is what we all need to learn.
Most things aren’t actually that difficult. But learning them does take awhile. The hardest part is devoting time to get better and to reach our goals.
Running isn’t overly hard – it’s just complex and learning a new skill takes time. This is why I am training with a group that provides the training plan. I just need to show up and do what is planned. Not that difficult. I just need to not skip a workout.
Running a marathon isn’t very hard. The numbers showcase that over a half a million people run a marathon each year. However, the number is deceiving because less than .5% of people have ran a marathon. We are all plagued by the notion of time. Can we really commit? Are we strong enough to do so?
What I am trying to showcase to Aiden and my daughters is that things are not really that difficult, but that our goals take time. This is a monumental mindset shift. They don’t understand and in the moment Aiden does not want to hear it. He does not like basketball and so convincing him that he could like it if he opened up his mind. More importantly, we tell him that playing various sports and games is good for his hand, eye, feet coordination that will help him in football which he loves.
I am happy to report that a few weeks into these workouts and sessions he has a new sense of confidence about himself. He smiles more. His shoulders don’t slouch. He does not cringe when it is time to go. He enjoys it. Maybe not the sport itself, but the challenge, feeling the improvement, connecting with friends. Most importantly he is starting to realize that maybe he can actually do the things he puts his mind to(although he won’t admit any of this!)
Back to the matter at hand. We don’t need special genes and DNA to reach our goals. We just need to be able to devote time to our goals. With time comes patience to not give up, staying consistent, and a positive self image. We can only achieve what we believe we can achieve.
Now I need to adhere to my own words of wisdom as I struggle with dropping weight and getting frustrated. I just need to exercise patience and believe in myself.
Leave a Reply