Power of the Mind!!

Ever wake up and want to skip a workout or call in sick?  Start a long run and want to quit after 5k? Set a goal and wonder why you did it? 
Why do you decide against what you mind is questioning??  Because you dont let the little man in your head convince you that you should!  Your body can do anything you want it to do, your mind is what tells it to stop.  Yes, that is the simple version of it, but is it really any more complicated than that?  Think about it a little.....
When you ran your first 2km, did you ever imagine you would run an IRONMAN?  Probably not, if you are like most you thought it was a crazy unreachable idea.  One that only hte greatest could achieve, those people who trained months and years to get to that point.  Your mind created an awesome story to tell others so that you could forget that the notion that you could do it.  When you were out with friends who talked about IM, you had countless reasons why you could not do one right now.  Work, need to train more, later in my life.....All great stories to stop you from making the commitment to train and get it done.  You gave in to your mind.  It is the most powerful muscle in our body and only our conscience can control it, and we allow the mind to control us 99.9% of the time. 
From my personal experience I can recount many times when I let it beat me, and many times when I decided I would take control. 
When I trained for my Level 3 ski instructors certification, I took control and did not let my mind tell me to stop.  It took me 3 attempts to pass the certification in its entirety.  In the process I had many friends after the second time I did not pass the skiing tell me to pack it in.  'Why continue, you are a good skier!! ', they told me.  Their attitude was that I did not need the certificate and that I should move on.  My mind never allowed me to go there.  Sure, there was a feeling of defeat when I failed the second time, but it still never stopped me from wanting to achieve the goal.  I knew I could get there if I continued to work at it.  I did finally pass it when I took control and did not let my mind get the best of me on exam day.  I would stand on the start line and freak out because my mind would throw in the you cant do it moments.  I knew I was at the standard and did not let the little man in my head say the words and I was successful!!  Because I let the doubt part of my head take over it took my 3 tries to get it done, had I followed what I knew I could do I would have been done the first time around.
Every time I run a race my head takes over.  I get half way through the race and I let myself be convinced that I cant go any harder or longer.  I slow down then speed up, slow down, speed up...... The net result is that I seem to have enough energy at a race to sprint the last KM after being convinced that I can not keep going.  The mind is hte strongest muscle!!!!
I guess what I am saying in this post is that we must exercise our brain as much as we exercise our muscles while on our way to the start line.  Some people are naturally athletically gifted and being succesful at a sport comes with relative ease.  For the rest of us it comes with a lot of physical training.  If we dont train the mind along with it then we will never get to the top of our game.
Imagine where you want to get to, set your goals for the journey.  If you believe in yourself and dont let the little man in your haed tell you can't, you will get there! 
Aim high, work hard and anything is possible!!!  Just dont let your head convince you otherwise!!!

For those who may have just started reading my blog.....it is my head being put on paper, not always the most logical ramblings, but they are here for you to enjoy!!  LOL

Cheers and happy physical and brain training Wednesday!!