Day 13 self love

Day 13 self love So having become aware of our negative self talk and tried some positive self talk the book tells us it’s now time to deal with realistic self talk. This is where I feel the book really relates to coaching-seeing the place you want to be (or your goal/dream) seeing where you are now and then constructively motivating yourself forward to bridge the gap between. It’s not about overly criticising as we know that can deflate us, or even being too peppy and positive as sometimes that isn’t helpful either as we struggle to truly believe and buy in to it. But being realistic, raising our awareness to see both good points and areas that still need work, accepting them and then coming up with a plan to get where we want,is the most productive and positive self loving way to be. Every athlete that wins a gold medal at the olympics starts somewhere, none go from nothing to immediately winning without any training; even those that were showing skill in the area. They had to hone their skills and overcome any doubts, or obstacles holding them back. I remember the film Cool Runnings based on the true story of the Jamaican bob-sleigh team. They chose not to listen to the doubts and jeers of their peers, parents and other competitors, or became frightened by the overwhelm of the medal win. They first raised some money, trained their start times, got a sled they could afford, then decorated it up, to make their progress. They took the course every turn at a time! And they may not have won in terms of medals their first year, but they won in terms of earning respect and being recognised in their field to go back the next year as equals! It’s all about the journey, whilst being (what I like to think of as) positively or constructively realistic and living wholly in each moment. The same with babies learning to walk, it doesn’t happen the first time, they wriggle, crawl and then finally take their first few bambi-like steps. The point is they continue in the present, not being blinkered and held back by the times they have fallen over in the past, or worrying about not being able to see the finish line miles in the distance, they just keep trying, working on what they can. What are your hang ups? And where ideally do you want to be? Then the challenge today is-knowing what you know how you can get just one step closer! One of my favourite Chinese proverbs is translated “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” What steps could you take? Or what do you think you need to know before you feel you can make them?