Change Your Stinkin’ Thinkin’

I love quotes. Usually they say things creatively or much more succinctly than I can on my own. I like them motivational, corrective, insightful or humorous. Often I try to find a new one each day, or revisit a favorite if it resonates with my current stream of thoughts passing through the grey matter. Today I came back to this one by Henry Ford.

“Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, you’re right.”

Attitude really does matter. It’s all about perspective. Everything appears harder looking ahead, especially when that feeling is looking up at a hill, mountain or sheer cliff that our upcoming challenge may feel like. And yet almost always when looking backward after having accomplished whatever we’ve set out to do, looking back we realize it was something we could do. It’s now familiar and the difficulty of the challenge is somehow lessened.

Usually. I’ll throw in that caveat. Some challenges in life are as hard as they seem looking ahead, or worse. But that attitude of how we deal with it still matters.

We have limits. We can’t accomplish anything. I know we like to tell our kids they can do anything they set their mind to, and in principle it’s still a good thing to say. We can (almost) always do much more than we think we can. I’m speaking of course in the context of health and fitness as I usually do, but also as usually applying to everyday life. We can push harder to achieve more in nearly every circumstance.

I need saying almost and nearly because again, there are limits. But the current limits we see are almost always artificially set by our thinking, and that thinking is often shaped by our attitude. In fitness it’s typically mind over body. Our body gets exhausted, depleted of it’s quick reserves or finding the limits of what our breathing, heart and muscles can exert. Most often if we take a short active recovery, we can keep going again or further than we originally thought.

I feel this time and again in my cycling adventure of these last couple of years. When I started it was more of a casual ride outside as I built up some capability. Starting in my first off season of spin classes, going for a full hour seemed crazy and long. I had to pace myself saying in my head “I think I can do an hour” of class. Now in when I shift to spin class as the weather turns I approach it with the though “I only have an hour of class, so make the most of it.” I attack that hour and try to get every second I can moving hard and fast as my body will allow.

I have tried to increasingly use that same attitude with life lately. I only have so much time each day, week, months and years. This is true because of my health challenges, but also life in general. Time is so limited for all of us, and we should value every bit of it.

Some days those old limits come back. Doesn’t matter why, but if I let my thinking fall into the trap, it only makes the process worse. I get less out of the time I spend, and it feels more arduous along the way. Whether the task at hand is enjoyable or a chore, having a good attitude about it makes it better. I know it, you know it. And yet we still fall into the trap. It’s worth a few minutes to step back, evaluate and adjust.

Make a checkup from the neck up and clear that stinkin' thinkin’ is a phrase I remember but don’t know the source. So true.

So whatever your current limits understand they may be valid, but work with them and you will find that boundary will likely shift over time with good attitude and effort. It’s a matter of perspective.

One last thought in a little story. This was a fun experience on the Tour of St. George Century ride now a couple of months back. We had so much fun not only with our group but chatting with some fellow riders along the way that were about our same pace or when we passed each other. About a third of the way in we met a small group of riders that included a gentleman that struck up a conversation with me. We were in a small rolling section of flats and hills, just enjoying the experience. He mentioned his group of friends that got each other to ride and asked about if this was our first time and why we were riding. We shared our small group and reasons, to which I decided to mention that this was a new milestone for me, especially with my recent surgery and battle with cancer.

He was taken aback. “You had surgery when?!” We laughed and talked a little about the therapy we find in cycling. He joked that he had better beat me to the finish given that he had no excuses like that. He eventually said “hey, if you need any help along the way just get behind me and I’ll pull.” (Pulling for you non-cyclist means you ride right behind someone drafting on their back tire. The person in front has to put out extra effort and those behind get an easier ride). I laughed, said thanks and replied “You too. If you start dragging, hope on my back wheel and I’ll help out.” Because I’m stubborn like that.

And for the record, while we leapfrogged each other throughout the ride, and we finished ahead of them. We might have not been in the top half of the finishers, we did pretty good for a first time for me. Next time we’ll do even better!

Photo today is one of great attitude and motivation via my fellow cyclist Jeron. We took a photo today comparing his gnarly beard to mine. Jeron is an inspiration in his healthy efforts having recently lost weight together with his wonderful wife, then taken it much further. He rides like a mad man and runs nearly every day. He’s completed marathons and has big ones lined up for this year. I appreciate friends like this that lift me up and share in the passion for a better, healthier life experience!