"All healing, all flourishing comes from the story you tell yourself".
What do you allow yourself to think? Who do you let in your 'movie'? (your life is your 'movie') Are you in control, are you a good director? The thoughts we let in our head create the actions we do and say with our bodies and our mouth. How good are your thoughts, how good are your words?
I don't know maybe I have been thinking way to much lately. Lots going on in my head, my life, and maybe some of its what we all see and hear every day that sometimes gets to us. I read an article today about a pro triathlete coming to grips with the idea he was turning 40. He was having a tough time with it, to say the least. The body seemed to be the biggest hurdle for him. As it probably should be as being a pro triathlete is tough, physically and mentally. I know this because I am over 40 and I am a triathlete getting back in the game after turning 40. I didn't have any real bad thoughts about turning 40, for the most part it was just a number. My livelihood wasn't based on whether or not I was healthy and racing either, so a bit different scenario. But in reading his article I realized it was his way of looking at what the number was that was hindering him, not his real ability to still race, physically, and do well. His 'movie' needed some editing.
So when my 40th Birthday rolled around, I lived in Laguna Beach at the time, and my birthday was three weeks ago, so, Winter, in Laguna, means no Snow! I wanted snow! So I drove to Lake Tahoe to go snowboarding, completely spur of the moment. I needed to be somewhere where I wasn't going to FEEL like I was turning 40. ( I was having similar age thoughts as the pro triathlete) I needed to do something 'active' not just go out with a few friends and have a salad and glass of wine. I needed to move and maybe even in that moving it healed my soul in some strange way and let me know that getting older doesn't mean putting your 'toys' in the garage sale and never doing anything spontaneous, crazy, fun, wild and definitely worth remembering! So I went snowboarding and it was great.
Our activities and how we think of ourselves in those activities can make you heal, they can even make you flourish. They can make you whole again after you feel like you've been torn apart. When we do what we love, physically, as in a sport or fun hobby, we even think clearer, although we still can think too much. When I was training for my first marathon back in 1995 my roommate asked me once what I thought about while I was running 17 miles. She thought I was nuts, completely. She figured I would be bored out of my mind running that long with nothing to do other than run. I told her, no way, just the opposite. I'm not bored at all. I think of all the problems I have, all the people that bug me, all the people I love, people I want to love, (yes I have a long list of people I still want to love, haha) and I work it all out. When I finish those 17 miles as far as I am concerned, there is world peace!!! How could you get bored??? is what I want to know? Not a chance. But it's in that time, where the endorphins are kicking in and you hurt and you feel good all at the same time that the story you tell yourself, when you're on your own out there on the road, is the one you have to make sure is a good story.
There is so much bad that we see and hear everyday. People let us down all the time, it's a wonder we ever get out of bed. It's 'all for one' and all for one, not 'one for all'. I remember thinking a long time ago, right out of college that I always wanted to be learning and growing and evolving, not someone just looking for the next fix to get them through the day. I wanted to do or be someone that gave back, that did something that was more than just about themselves. I need to know that the story I tell myself is better than the story you're going to tell me about myself, because you don't know me like I know me and if I don't believe in me, then why should anyone else. I guess when it comes right down to it, it's what we think, that are the most important thoughts of all, because it also controls what comes out of our mouths, (which we can't take back after we say them) and what we do with our bodies. Oprah used to ask at the end of her show sometimes 'What do you know for sure?' I thought about this a long time and it was a long time ago too. I know it sounds sort of melancholy, but we, alone, are really all that we have. I guess the sooner you realize that and know that you have to work on being the best 'you' in your movie and the best director of your movie over anything else in order to really be able to give back to others before you can be of service to others in whatever way you wish. It's the ultimate 'pay it forward' that starts from within ourselves and then spreads, hopefully, like wild fire. Think of how amazingly positive our world would be if we all just stopped thinking junk thoughts and doing bad things. The positive effects of that are mind-blowing to me. It makes me think that world peace could be possible, as naive as it sounds. But if your movie is all jacked up and bad, then that's all your going to know, attract and create for yourself and we will all continue to live in the chaos that surrounds us. Thoughts are things, they become who you are so think carefully. Whether it's about having a pro triathlete career come to a turning point because your getting older, or it's running your company. The story you tell yourself is the one that your going to have to live with.
My Mom sent me letters when I was in college. She put a poem in one letter, where she got it, I don't know. It's dated February, 1990. February is a few days away, Spring is around the corner and these things have been on my mind. I'm not sure if the rest of you have a day, literally, one day of the year, where things, multiple things, over multiple years, have happened to you or in your life on that very same day, but for me that day is February 12th. So when it is close I get to thinking even more. I know it's significance now, for me it's about change. Something I love actually. Big change, awakenings, opening up to new opportunities, creatively, spiritually, for the better. If your 'movie' isn't going how you want it to, now is the time to make the change. Alter your thoughts, think positive, don't let the junk in. And start planting those flowers because the sun is going to be out soon enough.
So I leave you with this...
Comes The Dawn
After a while you learn the subtle difference between holding a hand and chaining a soul.
And you learn that love doesn't mean security,
And you begin to learn that kisses aren't contracts
And presents aren't promises
And you begin to accept your defeats with your head up and your eyes open, with the grace of a woman, not the grief of a child,
And you learn to build all your roads on today because tomorrow's ground is too uncertain.
And futures have a way of falling down in midflight, After a while you learn that even sunshine burns if you get too much.
So you plant your own garden and decorate your own soul, instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.
And you learn that you really can endure...
That you really are strong,
And you really do have worth
And you learn and learn
With every goodbye you learn... author unknown
Caroline / Triathleta
What do you allow yourself to think? Who do you let in your 'movie'? (your life is your 'movie') Are you in control, are you a good director? The thoughts we let in our head create the actions we do and say with our bodies and our mouth. How good are your thoughts, how good are your words?
So when my 40th Birthday rolled around, I lived in Laguna Beach at the time, and my birthday was three weeks ago, so, Winter, in Laguna, means no Snow! I wanted snow! So I drove to Lake Tahoe to go snowboarding, completely spur of the moment. I needed to be somewhere where I wasn't going to FEEL like I was turning 40. ( I was having similar age thoughts as the pro triathlete) I needed to do something 'active' not just go out with a few friends and have a salad and glass of wine. I needed to move and maybe even in that moving it healed my soul in some strange way and let me know that getting older doesn't mean putting your 'toys' in the garage sale and never doing anything spontaneous, crazy, fun, wild and definitely worth remembering! So I went snowboarding and it was great.
Our activities and how we think of ourselves in those activities can make you heal, they can even make you flourish. They can make you whole again after you feel like you've been torn apart. When we do what we love, physically, as in a sport or fun hobby, we even think clearer, although we still can think too much. When I was training for my first marathon back in 1995 my roommate asked me once what I thought about while I was running 17 miles. She thought I was nuts, completely. She figured I would be bored out of my mind running that long with nothing to do other than run. I told her, no way, just the opposite. I'm not bored at all. I think of all the problems I have, all the people that bug me, all the people I love, people I want to love, (yes I have a long list of people I still want to love, haha) and I work it all out. When I finish those 17 miles as far as I am concerned, there is world peace!!! How could you get bored??? is what I want to know? Not a chance. But it's in that time, where the endorphins are kicking in and you hurt and you feel good all at the same time that the story you tell yourself, when you're on your own out there on the road, is the one you have to make sure is a good story. There is so much bad that we see and hear everyday. People let us down all the time, it's a wonder we ever get out of bed. It's 'all for one' and all for one, not 'one for all'. I remember thinking a long time ago, right out of college that I always wanted to be learning and growing and evolving, not someone just looking for the next fix to get them through the day. I wanted to do or be someone that gave back, that did something that was more than just about themselves. I need to know that the story I tell myself is better than the story you're going to tell me about myself, because you don't know me like I know me and if I don't believe in me, then why should anyone else. I guess when it comes right down to it, it's what we think, that are the most important thoughts of all, because it also controls what comes out of our mouths, (which we can't take back after we say them) and what we do with our bodies. Oprah used to ask at the end of her show sometimes 'What do you know for sure?' I thought about this a long time and it was a long time ago too. I know it sounds sort of melancholy, but we, alone, are really all that we have. I guess the sooner you realize that and know that you have to work on being the best 'you' in your movie and the best director of your movie over anything else in order to really be able to give back to others before you can be of service to others in whatever way you wish. It's the ultimate 'pay it forward' that starts from within ourselves and then spreads, hopefully, like wild fire. Think of how amazingly positive our world would be if we all just stopped thinking junk thoughts and doing bad things. The positive effects of that are mind-blowing to me. It makes me think that world peace could be possible, as naive as it sounds. But if your movie is all jacked up and bad, then that's all your going to know, attract and create for yourself and we will all continue to live in the chaos that surrounds us. Thoughts are things, they become who you are so think carefully. Whether it's about having a pro triathlete career come to a turning point because your getting older, or it's running your company. The story you tell yourself is the one that your going to have to live with.So I leave you with this...
Comes The Dawn
After a while you learn the subtle difference between holding a hand and chaining a soul.
And you learn that love doesn't mean security,
And you begin to learn that kisses aren't contracts
And presents aren't promises
And you begin to accept your defeats with your head up and your eyes open, with the grace of a woman, not the grief of a child,
And you learn to build all your roads on today because tomorrow's ground is too uncertain.
And futures have a way of falling down in midflight, After a while you learn that even sunshine burns if you get too much.
So you plant your own garden and decorate your own soul, instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.
And you learn that you really can endure...
That you really are strong,
And you really do have worth
And you learn and learn
With every goodbye you learn... author unknown
Caroline / Triathleta
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What is your Greatest Inspiration? What keeps you moving forward? To Pay it Forward? To stay healthy? Share your Passion? Make your mark on the Sport of Triathlon?