I Can Do It...Maybe

This morning my sister, cousin, and I decided we were going to pack up our kids (6 between the three of us all under the age of 4) and go running. My sister and cousin have been training for a half marathon they plan to run in August and while I had originally planned on running it with them I haven't actually been doing the running part of training...oops:) But I thought, no biggie, I have been exercising virtually every day, cardio and strength training so I figured I would be fine. Plus it was only going to be a 2 mile run and I have done running as exercise since high school so Bring It On!
So we start running and we are running on this beautiful trail that's right between a golf course and a river so the atmosphere and temperature are pretty perfect, which made it easy for me to start some inner dialogue, yes, that means talking to myself. A huge reason why I will always run, even if I'm not the fastest or greatest runner, is because while running I have received some of the best inspiration for me and my life.
As I'm running and yes, talking to myself, I notice my breathing getting a little out of sync, so I start to work on my breathing and begin saying, "I can do this, I can do this." Hold up a sec...I can do this? I let my mind mull that phrase over and decided it truly left a bitter taste in my mouth. Let me explain:
I can do it. It's such a common phrase people use to help motivate themselves, it's what we shout at people who are in competitions, "You can do it!" But aren't they already doing it? So isn't it obvious that they can do it, they ARE doing it. Again let me clarify; the reason I decided that phrase left a bad taste in my mouth was because it was lacking in action. When you tell yourself "I can do it" are you usually doing the thing that you are telling yourself you can do? Or are you using it to try to pump yourself up, but then end up half heartily doing the thing you said you could do?
I remember when my daughter was learning to walk, I would tell her mildly and coaxingly "you can do it, come on, you can do it" but when she actually took those first steps I freaked out. I smiled, I laughed, I waved my arms, my voice got all high and squeaky, my face beamed with pride and I shouted, "YOU'RE DOING IT!!!" Her face broke out into this huge smile, she laughed, and held her arms out at me, maybe she didn't know exactly what had just happened, but she knew she did something pretty great.
As I was running I didn't need to keep chanting, I can do it, I can do it, I was already doing it, so I already knew I could. So I stopped saying that and changed my words to "I'm Doing It!" Immediately my pace quickened, my breathing evened, I even felt a lift in my mood. Words either bring life or death, light or darkness, I was used to using a phrase that while the intention was good, it still promoted inaction, still allowed the possibility for failure. When I shifted and used a phrase that was positive, encouraging, and full of action I felt brighter, stronger, and happier.
Words have power and the sooner you learn this, the easier life will be. I challenge you today to really look at the words you are saying externally and the words you are saying internally. Look at your go to motivating statements and question them. Make sure they are actually promoting and moving you to action. Try out the phrase "I'm doing it" instead of "I can do it" and see if it makes any difference in the actions you actually take and the way you feel about yourself. You won't be disappointed!

Sincerely,
Aimee Lee
Embrace Your Brilliance