Happy Monday, dear readers! I hope you all had a lovely weekend! I’m still working on putting together my Ragnar recap, which I’m hoping to publish tomorrow. Today I want to write a bit about loving and accepting yourself, since that’s something that a lot of us, including myself, struggle with.
It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you know in your heart that you can do it. When I ran my first marathon, I just knew deep down that I was ready to run my goal race. There wasn’t any doubt; I just ran. That kind of mental confidence, whether you’re running a race or giving a presentation at work, will help you move mountains.
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Without that self-love and self-confidence, things can fall apart. Self-rejection can taint your entire outlook on where you’re at in life, leading you to sell yourself short in all sorts of circumstances. If you think you can only make it to 10,000 feet, you’ll never make it to the moon. Changing your outlook on what you’re capable of can help you achieve goals that you never thought you were capable of achieving.
I think I may have been selling myself short lately on some things, telling myself I’m not a good enough blogger or yogi or teacher, and so on. This week I’m going to take some time to sit down and make some goals that may seem a little unachievable now, but I know with some hard work I’ll make it. I’m setting the bar a little higher because I know I’m stronger than I give myself credit for.
Do you struggle with self-rejection?
What are some big goals you’re working on achieving?
What are your goals for the week?
I totally believe this! I essentially had to talk myself into qualifying for Boston last year. It’s surprising what self-motivation and positive thinking can do. I set three lofty goals in 2014 that I wouldn’t have met if I didn’t believe in my abilities. The key is to write them down, share them with others for accountability and to set up a bunch of smaller goals along the way (and to celebrate them!) to reach your bigger goals.
Totally agree about sharing them to stay accountable. I’m so bad about keeping my hopes and goals in my head and not sharing them, but you’re absolutely right!
Yes to this Beth! Seriously I realized that after my marathon this weekend. I had so much self doubt leading up to it. It’s like I thought it was some miracle I had finished a marathon before. I didn’t believe in myself and when I finished I realized I need to give myself way more credit and be confident in my abilities.
Beautiful! So glad you were able to use your positive outlook to help you finish your marathon! And you totally kicked some butt! Congrats!
I don’t think I’ve ever struggled with outright self rejection. Maybe self dejection, if that makes sense. There have been times when I have wondered why I am here, why others love me, why can’t I be a little bit better at being a good person, a patient person, more accepting. And then I realize that these are the moments that make me a stronger person by helping me to grow. The last few years as I continuously failed to get a job in my career field, I think that’s about as close as I might get to really having issue with myself.
I love you, I think you are wonderful. I hope you believe and know you are as well.
I’ve been there, too. (My doctor says I internalize things too much, but that’s a story for another day…) Love you, too, Suz! So glad to have you on my side. 🙂
Oh man, so many goals I have (and am also apparently Yoda). I have been writing them down and trying to be more practical and SMART about them. Congrats on Ragnar!
Love the idea of writing goals down. I think of things I want to do so often but they tend to slip in and out of my brain. I should start using Endnote to keep track of those things, too. 🙂
It’s so hard not to doubt ourselves. I have a lot of running, and even more non-running, related goals. I think I find it easy to put a lot of pressure on myself and unfortunately psyche myself out of accomplishing a lot of my goals. I’m hoping this week to focus on self-appreciation and relaxation. I hope you have a fabulous week. Thanks for a great post!
Glad you enjoyed the post, Jamie! I find that I get in my head a lot about goals and freak myself out, too. Hopefully we can both overcome that tendency. 🙂
I do struggle with self-rejection, I write about it often. My work on mental toughness is an ongoing challenge. I’ve made some pretty good strides in this area…I’ve got a post cooking for Weds that addresses it…
It’s seriously so hard to hone mental toughness. I feel like sometimes I take a step forward only to take two steps back. Looking forward to reading that post!
Love this Beth! I am often more afraid of trying something in fear that I won’t be able to succeed. Always a good reminder to reach far past your goals – never know what you are capable of accomplishing!
I’m totally the same way. Hate doing things unless I know I’m going to be really good at them. Gotta love being an overachiever. 🙂
Self-rejection and doubt is a powerful thing…but not in a good way. So much of motivation and goal setting is mental, right?!
Yes, exactly! That’s why sports psychology is a thing–your mind really does strongly affect what you can accomplish!