I Think I Can
Dear Awesome Person Reading This,
Since the inception of this blog, I have not missed a day. I made a commitment to post every Monday and Thursday and honestly, to my own surprise (and delight), I have done so. A significant part of my steadfastness is the grace of God. Another part of the equation is discipline. There have been times when I sat in front of the computer, typing and erasing. Nothing seemed to flow out of me. I felt like I was rambling. I felt like I had nothing of value to share with you. But I would keep pushing. I pushed because I made you a promise. I pushed because I made myself a promise. I pushed because I could not bear the thought of giving up again. So I pushed.
(Sidebar: An interesting thing happened while I was writing this. I accidentally deleted a chunk of this post when I was close to completing it. I had to rewrite most of it. Talk about pushing!)
So back to what I was saying. I went back to the gym this past Thursday. Prior to that, it had been longer than I choose to admit since I pulled into the parking lot of 24-Hour Fitness. There are a myriad of reasons this is a fact, but they are not important for today's conversation. However, those who know me, know I LOVE being active. Fitness has been an integral part of my life for many years. It always has a way of teaching me a life lesson. Thursday was no exception.
While changing in the locker room, I decided I would work on my legs. During the second portion of my workout, my legs began to burn. I did not have any music to push me because I forgot my headphones. I was alone so I could not look to a workout partner to encourage me or cheer me on. There were people around but they were focused on their own workouts. It was just me.
These moments are the most critical. To build muscle, you have to first put tension on the muscle. If you never push far enough, you will never see the growth you desire. Some recommend lifting heavier weights which causes more stress on the muscle, thus promoting growth. In my case, I was using my bodyweight. The circuit consisted of completing high reps with small, I mean small, breaks. The repetitive movements were putting stress on my leg muscles indeed. If I decided to stop when it became challenging, I would not see the results I hoped for in the long run.
I had to make a decision. Was I going to quit or was I going to keep pushing? This is where mental toughness or grit comes into play. I started talking to myself, literally. It may have sounded something like this: "Don't quit. You can do this. You only have thirty seconds left. You got this! You are strong. Push past the pain. It's almost over. You will be proud of yourself for not quitting. Let's go Kay, let’s go!!!!!" Don’t get me wrong, this did not make the pain stop. Instead, it caused me to shift my focus. Instead of listening to the discomfort, I changed the song.
As I reflected on my workout, I was reminded of the vital importance of my inner dialogue. The thoughts I entertained in my mind dictated the success or failure of my workout. Henry Ford put it this way: “Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, you’re right.” I choose to keep fighting. I choose not to practice quitting. If you push through when it is difficult, you will become stronger!
At the end of day, God has given us 66 books (The Bible) to tell us who we are and how we ought to think about ourselves. He commanded us to be strong which tells me we were created to be strong (See Joshua 1:9). My thoughts about myself should be a reflection of who God says I am. He made me so He should know, right? Right
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for being with me in every area of my life. Help me to push through discomfort and stay the course. Help me to walk in discipline and to not allow my feelings to dictate willingness to keep my commitments to myself and others. Help me to keep going forward when I really want to quit. Remind me of who You say I am and what I am capable of doing WITH You. Remind of the things I have stop doing that I need to start doing. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Until next time,
Live Audaciously!
Kay Naomi