Believe to Achieve; Run to Succeed – Dee
Day 5
Neuroscientists have learned that our memories are formed simultaneously in the hippocampus (short-term storage) and the cortex (long-term storage) of the brain. It is much like saving a file on your computer and then moving that file to a back-up storage. These memories, like electronic files, stay forever unless they are rewritten, replaced or deleted. Our reactions to others or ourselves are based on all the memories we have collected up to this point in our life. Every thought we think, every conscious or unconscious thought we say to ourselves is translated into electrical impulses in the brain which then controls every action we take and every feeling we have throughout the day.
With that being said, we each have the ability to rewrite our stories and change our future. What do you want to achieve, change or create in your life? What is preventing you from reaching those things?
I’d like to share with you how I came up with the quote you read at the start of this message. I had gotten into running half and full marathons but found myself wanting to run longer and more challenging races. I discovered trail races were exactly what I was looking for, they had it all longer distances, challenging elevation gains and different terrain. However, I had never run on trails before, and then it started….the inner self-talk. I started telling myself “I won’t be able to do this," “I’m not athletic," “I’m not a good enough runner." I realized that I was the one that was holding me back, and I needed to claim what I wanted. I had to believe that I could, and so I created my daily mantra “Believe to Achieve; Run to Succeed.”
Each day I said my mantra, headed out for a trial run, and it became an enjoyable experience vs one of struggles. As my 50k race approached, myself-talk became “I can do this," “This is going to be an amazing experience," “I am a great runner." I achieved my goal, completed the 50K race, and I created awesome new memory that rewrote that old belief that I could not do this. This allowed me to enter other races that were even longer and more difficult because my memory has been written to “I can do this, and it will be an amazing experience."
Self-talk changes our beliefs, which will develop the attitude, which will create the feelings, which control the action.
Take a sheet of paper and write down those self-talk limiting beliefs that are keeping you from making a change or achieving what you want.
Decide today, that it is not true.
Now write your mantra, that will create the new experience, that will become the memory, that rewrites that old limited belief and changes your life.