Attitude Is Everything!

Generally I am a VERY positive human being – I think you kind of have to be to sign up for an Ironman.  However, this whole swimming thing definitely has a way of bringing out the negative in me.  I don’t have a fear of not being able to finish, but I do have a fear of being EMBARRASSED of my time.  This is terrible.  I am always telling people “time doesn’t matter – what matters is that you’re out there getting after it!” I truly believe that.  I think it’s important to be able to push your limits if you want to improve, but you should never be embarrassed of your time (especially if you pushed yourself)!  You should be thankful that you can swim and cycle and run and you should be PROUD that you got out there and finished! 

 

So today, I came home from work EXCITED to go to the pool.  It’s funny how simply changing your attitude going into a workout can totally change the outcome.  I may not have swam much faster than I normally do, but I felt GOOD!  I felt fluid and I felt strong.  The mantras that kept me going today: "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming!" and "you will crush all 1500 meters on Sunday!"    

I often have to remind myself that I have only been swimming for less than four months (the last time I swam laps before May was in seventh grade!).  There is so much room for improvement...I just have to continue being excited about these workouts rather than dreading them! 

There is a quote that really resonates with me:

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on my life. Attitude, to me is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstance, than failure, than success, than what other people think, say, or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home.
The remarkable thing is, we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day.
We cannot change our past; we cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude...
I am convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to me, and 90 percent how I react to it.
And so it is with you... We are in charge of our attitudes.”

- Charles Swindoll (Thanks, Mrs. Ferris!)

I am hoping that over the winter I can continue to keep a positive attitude in the pool, push my limits and gain some speed! A few new suits will also help make me speedier, right?  Well maybe not, but a new suit or two will at least make me MORE excited to get to the pool!  New workout gear tends to magically make a workout more fun! :)

Came home to some new Mizuno Wave Riders that Anthony ordered for me!

*BEST HUSBAND*

Do negative thoughts ever get the best of you?   

What do you do to keep yourself positive and motivated? 

Do mantras help you push through a workout?
Do new workout clothes make your workouts better? ;)

[Posted by Peggy]