Telling Myself the Truth

Stinking Thinking Exposes Problems

It’s been a couple of weeks since I shared how things are going. Many things have transpired since then. It’s May so it’s graduation month which brought three graduations to our family. My son earned his Masters in Strategic Leadership; my daughter earned two Associate degrees, one in Business Administration, one in Accounting and a Certificate in Bookkeeping. The last was me; I earned my Associate in General Studies 40 years after I started school in 1976. These are all amazing accomplishments which never would have happened without taking a dream to the next step of writing a goal, adding a date, making a task list and pursuing it to completion which we all have done. Yes, it feels amazing to have finally completed such a monumental task.

What does this have to do with running a marathon you ask? Everything is my answer! If you read my first post I mentioned that I had learned about the origination of the marathon as a tribute to a soldier in Greece who saved his country from destruction. That new information came from working toward my degree. It also changed my mind set or my thought process toward marathons from ridiculous activities to that of a tribute worthy of pursuit. The other thought about being able to do a marathon if that girl on TV could do it I could do it was another mind set change. Having six weeks of running practice behind me now I have had another shift in my thinking. I have stopped doubting my ability to do this even though I still face the challenge of internally motivating myself to get up and run when I’m hurting or tired or just don’t feel like doing it. Truthfully sometimes I have skipped a few practices when time was tighter than normal with all the graduation activities going on because of exhaustion.

The truth is what we think will either set us free to dare or it will hold us in a cage in bondage even if the door is open. The battlefield really is in the mind. What you think you can do you will do but what you think you cannot do you will never be able to accomplish. When we surrender to our thoughts about fear it can build unrealistic expectations until we refuse to even try. The words Freedom and Liberty come to mind reminding me of the story of the bird in a cage with an open door who has the freedom to fly away but not the liberty to follow through because of fear. It is like an invisible barrier that holds us back. We cannot see it but we know it is there so we do not try because we know we will fail.

Today I have decided to tell myself the truth. “I am Valuable” I say it all the time with my clients over and over again until they begin to believe in themselves. Some catch on quicker than others for a variety of reasons but I continue to repeat this mantra until they begin to believe it themselves. I have wanted to write for many years but just could never get past the fear of doing it. Fear of rejection that no one will want to read it or no one will like what I write or my style of writing is not polished enough or good enough. I could go on but I think you get the idea. I want to tell myself the truth.

The truth is

“My Voice Matters”.

Going after my degree, running a marathon and writing this blog are what freedom look like to me. This picture of the bird leaving the cage is a symbol of the liberty I now have to fly because I have overcome my fear by challenging it head on. I have found my voice because I was intentional about finding others who can gain value from my words. My belief in my negative self talk was what was really holding me back.

My aim would be to help set others free from the cage they have unintentionally placed themselves in so they are not at liberty to fly because they could not give themselves permission due to fear and doubt. I fully believe that whatever I achieve or accomplish in this life it is with the purpose of helping others do the very same thing. First for me and then for others, that is my life song.

What is holding you back? What is keeping you in the cage with an open door? Are you telling yourself the truth?