You Don’t Have to Listen

When that little voice in your head says “Are you kidding?!? You are too old.” You don’t have to listen.

When you think about a new challenge and think “I can’t do that! That’s too much/too tall/too long/ too hard.” You have a choice. You don’t have to listen to those negative thoughts.

Or when you look in the mirror and the mirror looks back as if to say “No, not you.” YOU DO NOT HAVE TO LISTEN.

It took me a long time to learn this. Who am I kidding? I’m still trying to learn this. Ha ha!

It’s easy to forget that the one person who is holding me back is… me.

Jill and I have talked about getting past negative voices during a podcast about a year ago. We have a list of mantras to download (just provide an email) to help you reframe your challenges.

This weekend I’m riding in the Buckeye Breakaway, a 150 mile fundraiser. Having a strong mental game feels just about as important as being physically prepared.

The ride is going to be hot. It’s going to be long. It will start at what I call “dark thirty.” And for me, it will probably end in mid afternoon when it’s really really hot.

The purpose of the ride is to help support research about MS. There are around 20,000 people in Ohio that have MS. There is no known cause. No known cure. And it mostly affects women. (My sister is one of those who have been diagnosed with MS.) In truth, this is one of my favorite weekends of the year because I get to ride bicycles with my friends and enjoy being with a fun group of people. There will be lots of food, laughs and good times.

I’m going to remember to hydrate, use sunscreen and plenty of chamois butter. And to keep my focus on the positive to ride with a light heart.

Look for a recap in the next week or so from me to hear about how it went.

QUICK UPDATE on the following Tuesday: You don’t have to listen to negative thoughts. But after interviewing one of our experts for the podcast, I remembered her saying about “if your heart rate doesn’t drop, you should finish for the day.” Check out my post this coming Saturday to hear what happened!