Getting into my car I wanted to cry, “How could I have bombed that work out?!” I thought.
My self-berating was real.
I stopped at a stoplight, but my thoughts didn’t. As the light transitioned to green a new thought flickered across my mind.
You are an exceptional athlete.
“What the heck,” I thought, “Did you see me, self?!”.
An exceptional athlete has bad days, that thought echoed, they just come back. Exceptional athletes “get knocked down.” What makes them exceptional is they get back up.
Slaying workouts and winning competitions is just the reward - the evidence of an athlete who shows up intentionally again and again good day or bad day.
I may not win every workout. In fact since that day at the stoplight I refuse to make winning every workout my goal. Setting an intention and fulfilling that intention is my new goal.
I will embrace my bad days knowing that bad days get me to my good days, and that I know bad days because I have known good days.
And so, I added this affirmation to my evening routine:
“I am an exceptional athlete.”
I already had…
“I am an exceptional blogger.”
“I am an exceptional business owner.”
“I am an exceptional student.”
“I am an exceptional copywriter.”
“I take exceptional care of my body.”
“I am exceptional with money.”
“I am an exceptional granddaughter.”
Admittedly, my affirmations used to be elaborate and detailed - exactly what I wanted in specific areas of life. Guess how many times I wrote them out in my journal or said them out loud?!
I don’t think I even made it through February.
I’m three months into the year and have written those affirmations more evenings than not.
I’m also feeling a LOT less discouraged.
Why?!
Because exceptional leaves room for grace and separates me from the pressure of being perfect and living into my affirmations RIGHT THIS MINUTE.
Remember, an exceptional athlete has good days and bad days, they set intentions, and they show up again (even after a bad work out).
It’s the same for an exceptional blogger; she blogs every week, rain or shine. Sometimes her posts are read by hundreds, sometimes they barely get a view. Sometimes she writes a post in 30min, sometimes three hours. But she shows up.
Another bonus: these affirmations are perfect phrases for visualization.
As soon as I stopped fighting the thought, “I am an exceptional athlete” I started imagining how an exceptional athlete shows up to their workouts and life. From there I got the freedom that exceptional athletes set intentions, show up consistently (by default, there has got to be some “bad days” in there), and celebrates their wins.
Next I visualize myself showing up to each workout:
Setting an intention.
Working hard.
Pressing through the hard days.
And “patting myself on the back” after the good days.
Affirmations creeped me out for a long time. It’s just weird. I didn’t want to say anything about myself that wasn’t true. As a result, I’ve read a lot of books, read even more bible verses, and tried quite a few affirmations and here’s what I’m walking forward with:
“For as he thinks within himself, so he is (Proverbs 23:7).”
“A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. (Luke 6:45)”
We humans think about ourselves A LOT.
Wouldn’t it be better to intentionally choose what we’re going to say and think about ourselves than randomly think whatever life and our feelings throw at us? I mean we’re going to be thinking about ourselves, anyways!
Don’t you think it would be a good idea to store up the good things in our heart Jesus say about ourselves instead of letting our emotions, circumstances, or other people have the final say?
I don't know about you, but if my emotions have the say of my identity this is how it would go…
No one likes you
You’re awkward
Everyone already has their people
You’re too old
You’re too young
If you were going to find a special someone it would have happened by now
You’re a pathetic athlete (you’re still scaling everything)
Can I just point out that there is no room for improvement these thoughts - just cages of pain. Not only that, as you were reading them, you were probably thinking, “Com'on Sisi, that’s not true.”
Good, I hope that’s exactly what you thought. Now take an inventory of your own thoughts and know I would be telling you the same thing!
We have got to stop telling ourselves things that aren’t true - even if they feel true and I think that starts with affirmations. At least, that’s where it starts for me - intentionally choosing what I’m going to think and say to myself about myself.
You know what creeps me out now?!
The fact that I would ever let my emotions tell me who I am.
It creeps me out that I would let someone else or my circumstance tell me who I am and what I can accomplish.
I’m not a pathetic athlete (even if I can only do 35lbs for those stupid overhead squats).
Sure I have bad days.
I have tired days.
And there are movements that I have yet to master.
But I keep showing up.
I keep setting intentions.
I press through the bad days.
I celebrate the good days.
I get into my car and, bad day or good day, I’m proud of me for showing up.
YOUR TURN:
What area of your life do you want to improve? Is there an area of your life that you find yourself constantly thinking badly about yourself?
Fill in the blank, “I am an exceptional __________.”
Set a timer for three minutes. For three minutes think about what it means to you do be exceptional in that area. If you know someone who you consider to be exceptional in that area think about what they do and then imagine yourself doing those things to.
Repeat 3-5 days a week for four weeks.
P.S. These photos were taken during Open 19.2, not the workout I opened the post talking about. I actually crushed the workout in the photos, but the workout got me to work on my self-talk came before this workout, so maybe all it had something to do with it.