Why do we sometimes stop ourselves from doing something extraordinary? You might come up with an idea to tackle a challenge or make a change and then something gets in the way. It could be your own voice telling you that you can't. It could be someone else making a judgment about your idea. Whatever it is, it's time to tell that "other" that yes you can, and yes you will.
In my own case, I have been throwing around two ideas and have encountered my own voice telling me to think twice. Why does this happen? I am a positive, confident person, yet doubt still seems to arise. For example, I am going to run the Kansas City Marathon this fall. (Notice I said, I am). This thought has been in my mind for several months now, but every once in a while I debate whether I am really going to complete this challenge. It's not like I don't think I can complete 26.2 miles. I ran the NYC marathon in 2002. Since then I had knee surgery and I've sort of used that as an excuse to not push myself beyond 13.1 miles. This thought often comes up when I think about the marathon: "Well, what if your knee can't handle it? Maybe you should just stick to the half marathon." Well, what if my knee can handle it? What if I push myself beyond my comfort zone? I've also been doing sprint triathlons for the past four years. I want to do one more race this summer before the marathon and was debating another sprint in August. But as I thought more, I decided to do an Olympic distance race (which is twice that of the sprint). In the past that voice has come up: "You really don't like the swim so just stick to the shorter race." But this morning I made the official decision to push beyond my comfort zone when it comes to swimming and go for it.
It's not always easy to say yes to something difficult (and there are times when "no" is certainly appropriate). But to those voices telling me "no, don't even try" I have to say enough! It's time to step out and take the plunge. Your challenge might not be endurance sports. But what amazing idea do you have that you are going to say "yes" to today?
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