Thought for a Monday

To think too long about doing a thing often becomes its undoing.

~Eva Young

I am the master at overthinking things and psyching myself out. Ialways start out thinking I can do this; I just need to do this, this, this, and this.... And then I've thought too long and too much, and I get scared and it's over.

I do it on the mountain bike - I come up to a downhill and start thinking about all the things that could go wrong and before I know it, I'm giving up - getting off the bike and walking it down the hill.

I do it on the skateboard - I start cruising down a hill and thinking about how fast I could go and how much a fall will hurt, and the foot comes down and I'm slowing to a stop.

I do it before a run. I have a plan on how far I'm running on a particular day, and if I think about the distance any more than that initial plan, I start thinking about how hard it'll be and how much easier it would be to go shorter (or even not at all).

But I'm getting better with the runs. I try to get into what I call "The Little Engine That Could" mode: my mantra becomes "I think I can; I think I can; I think I can". And, if I can keep that mantra in my mind, it works. But keeping it up and not letting the thoughts of "it's too hot out here" and "there's such a long way to go" and other negative thinking drown it out is difficult.

I need to figure out a way to turn off the negative parts of my brain and stick with the "I can do this" mind set and be "The Little Engine That Could" every day.