A Rude Affirmation for Running
that Really Works!
The term: 'rude affirmation' could 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. This is the situation I found myself in recently during a difficult cross-country race.
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 had 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 wanted to stop. I realized that if this train of thought continues, 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 thought things that Tony said during the show about what we believe about ourselves and what is possible.
"I am amazing," I thought.
No, "I am f**king amazing!"
I repeated this 'rude affirmation' several times and I couldn't believe the almost instant improvement in my energy and mood. I WAS f**king amazing! I finished that first uphill lap quickly and began the second lap without hesitation. I couldn't believe how short the second lap appeared to be. It certainly seemed longer and harder the first time around.
I am F**king Amazing!
-- A Rude Affirmation 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 and said to one of my friends who was struggling and told her that she was f**king amazing! She probably thought I was mad but I felt so good that I wanted everyone else to also. I was on a natural high.
Tony Robbins has a tremendous sense of what's holding others back from happiness and achieving their best. He uses extreme language which is meant to shock and interrupt the noise in people's 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 true for me 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', which I really love, can also be used at the beginning of a race or run. I have used it as a mental warm-up before starting a run and it 'sets the pace' so to speak to 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 get himself pumped and at his best mentally and physically. He often uses a small trampoline before he goes on stage.
When 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! haha!
Comments anyone?
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