This is something that changed my life and it’s something that can change your life too if you let it. There’s nothing negative in this world that can control you. No pain, no loss, no setback or trauma can control you. You have to take ownership over your life because if you do not, then you are allowing for outside forces to have control. That will always lead you down the wrong path, I guarantee it.
When I go on a run when I am not in the best running shape for a hard trail run then I know beforehand that there will be a negative thought that comes in my head. I know that there will be a point in the run when my mind starts to tell me how out of shape I am, or “this run sucks,” or “man, you’re not getting any better,” whether that’s true or not. We all deal with negative thoughts daily. How do you respond to them? When you lose your job do you think “I’m not good enough?” When you lose a relationship, is your first thought “I’ll never be good enough?” When you have a bad day, does your brain tell you that you are a failure? We all struggle with this, you are not alone. How does that serve your life to dwell on these thoughts?
Your perspective can either be your power or your prison. Think about that for a minute. Your mind will tell you that you are not enough and find reasons to justify it. If you are looking in the mirror and feeding those thoughts to your brain, it will find a way to make them true. You have to fight back with positive reinforcement when you become confronted with negative thoughts. When I’m running and those negative thoughts come up I fight them with “I’m out here putting in the work to get better everyday.”
Listen guys, I know that this is life. It’s long and its confusing and tough. I’m not telling you to ignore your realities but you need to take control over your mind so that it doesn’t take over you. This is the reality of the human condition. We have to push back on our negativity. It’s bred in our nature to look for our flaws in ourselves and in our world. What you focus on is what you feel.
This simple statement will give you control in your life in any situation- “what is this going to mean?” Game changer. Not “what does this mean,” but “what is this going to mean?” When I lost the NFL, if I asked myself “what does this mean,” the answer would be that I lost everything. The answer my mind would find is that I’m worthless now, and my life is over. But when I asked “what is this going to mean,” the answers looked like this- “it means I’m going to find my life’s true purpose,” “this is going to mean that this next chapter is going to be better than my last chapter.” I held on to that.
Start using those words and change your life by changing your perspective.
It all starts with you.
