A Rude Affirmation for Running that Really Helps Quickly!

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The term: 'rude affirmation' seems to be an oxymoron as affirmations are positive statements that are used to help us feel good about ourselves or to change an undesirable belief. However, sometimes desperate situations call for desperate measures, and we need something to shock our mind and body into action. This is the situation I found myself in during a difficult cross-country race a few years ago.

This situation occurred during a 10km cross-country race that was very hilly and very muddy. I wasn't familiar with the route, but I heard that parts of it were difficult. Much of it was uphill and during a particularly hard part of the course, I realized that I had to do two laps of this horrible uphill, muddy section.

My mind instantly decided it did not want to do this twice. Heck, I did not want to do it even once. The thoughts in my head were: "I do not want to do this; I do not want to do this!"

And guess what? My body was agreeing wholeheartedly. I was slowing down, and I desperately wanted to stop. I realized that if this train of thought continued, I was going to be miserable for the rest of the race; and I certainly would not have a decent finishing time. I had to do something to change my mental state and quickly!

Suddenly a documentary that I watched recently came to mind. It was about Tony Robbins and his teaching methods. At this moment, I needed something to shock myself into realizing that I could do this race and do it well. I remembered something that Robbins said during the documentary, "what we believe about ourselves directly affects what is possible for us."

"I am amazing," I thought.

No, "I am f**king amazing!" I decided. (Using expletives is often how Robbins effectively shocks his clients into a different thought pattern.)

I repeated this 'rude affirmation' several times, and I could not believe the instant improvement in my energy and mood. I WAS feeling f**king amazing! I finished that first uphill lap quickly and began the second lap without hesitation. I could not believe how quickly I finished the second lap! It seemed so much shorter and easier than the first time around.

I am F**king Amazing!
-- A Rude Affirmation for Running that Works

I was enjoying a renewed sense of energy and positivity. I passed several runners during the remainder of the course, and I even stopped briefly and spoke to one of my friends, who appeared to be struggling, and I told her that she was f**king amazing! She probably thought I was mad, but I felt so energized and happy that I wanted everyone else to feel this way too! I was on a natural high.

Tony Robbins has a tremendous intuitive sense in knowing what's holding others back from experiencing happiness and achieving their best. He uses extreme language which is meant to shock and interrupt the noise in our heads. This he says is "to provoke people back into the reality of this moment and that is how they change." I can certainly attest that this was my experience on the day of the race.

I highly recommend watching the Netflix documentary, 'Tony Robbins - I am not Your Guru.' It demonstrates his wonderful ability to sense the emotional barriers of others and provides some incredible examples of what's possible when a new perspective is offered.

This 'rude affirmation' for running, which I really love, can also be used at the beginning of a race or run. Since the above mentioned race, I have used this affirmation as a mental warm-up before starting a run and it 'sets the pace' so to speak for a much more positive and enjoyable run, sometimes resulting in a faster or longer-than-planned run.

Tony Robbins does physical warm-ups before he speaks to his audience to prepare himself so he is at his best mentally and physically. He often uses a small trampoline before going on stage.

Whenever I use this 'rude affirmation' before starting a run, I like to combine it with movement, such as jumping up and down or running down stairs as I exit my apartment building.

Try this 'rude affirmation' for running yourself. It feels f**king amazing! 😀😀

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