Focusing on the negative. (Expert level)

Posted on August 25, 2013 by Bo

The first kilometer of the running route from my house starts on a ~~very~~ semi-steep uphill. Because of this, I usually use the first kilometer to ‘warm up’ and walk. But my running has been getting stronger and one afternoon, I found myself managing to run the entire kilometer without stopping. I was thrilled! When I reached the top at the swimming school, my heart felt like it would jump out of my chest, more from happiness than exertion. I could not stop smiling. My inner voice was saying, “Well done Bron!” Best . Feeling. Ever!

Two minutes later, another runner caught up to me and we started making conversation. We exchanged pleasant neighborhood chatter and discussed some of our road races. A few minutes had passed and I was enjoying running with her when out of the blue, she said, “Well, nice to have met you. Enjoy the rest of your run, I need to get going and run a little faster. I need to get home before the sun sets.” And off she ran…

That’s when all the negative thoughts flooded my head:

Before the sun sets? What the…? Yes, because I’m so slow, right? No one wants to run with you Bron. No one! You’re too slow!

When she was out of sight, I slowed down (even more) and was still grumbling to myself when I suddenly thought back to how my run had started. I had managed to run up to the swimming school without walking. That was a great moment and it was brilliant! So then how the hell did I manage to allow my run to dip into such a negative mood. Why did it become all about my speed? How did I go so quickly from celebrating reaching a goal to focus on one of my biggest running insecurities?

Lesson learnt: It’s an area I need to work on. Breaking myself down happens so quickly and so easily. It’s destructive. I need to focus on my achievements and stop obsessing on the negative. I’m proud of myself. I ran the first kilometer from home all the way up the hill, to the swimming school, for the first time, without walking. Yeah! That’s what I want to take out of that run. Because that’s what counts!

(Image from Google)

It’s a sign…

Posted on August 8, 2013 by Bo

While out on my run this evening, I was suddenly engulfed by the awesome smell of… jasmine. It’s one of my favourite smells! Together with the sun which is setting later in the evening and the warm days, Spring is definitely in the air. I ran the rest of the way home clutching my piece of jasmine with the biggest smile on my face! Best. Run. Ever.

I’m just disappointed, that’s all.

Posted on May 19, 2013 by Bo

I’m disappointed.

I’ve been going through some real ups and downs at work in the past few weeks. Moments where it has felt as if things were all coming together, only to be faced with everything falling apart. It’s left me in a nasty dip. I’ve been walking around the office feeling lost, feeling extremely let down and pretty miserable to be around. I’m highly irritated with myself that I was mentally prepared for change and the change did not come and now I don’t know which way to turn…

Chatting to KK about it, he reminded me that he’s seen this happen before. Periods in my work life where I have been forced to make decisions based on a number of factors. He said, “Things do come right. They always do, but maybe just not when you expect them to.”

I guess the one lesson I’m learning from this experience is how I deal with situations that don’t go my way. I don’t deal with disappointment well. I let it overwhelm me and look to blame others. Nobody is at fault here. Things just didn’t pan out as I thought they would. It’s really up to me now to decide: do I look for a new path or just stick to the old one and wait? Going through some photos recently, I came across this one…

While on holiday in April, KK and I decided to go for a walk through Cecilia forest in Cape Town and chose the hiker’s path through the forest. After 2 hours, we landed up getting lost. We really did not know whether or not to continue on the hiker’s path, which was full of climbs and unexpected turns, or to just find the path that everyone else was on and stick to it. Regardless of the path, I enjoyed the beautiful scenery. It didn’t really matter to me that we did not quite know where we were because I was having fun.

This is what I’ve come to realize about my current situation. I’m more focused on the disappointment than on what’s next on the horizon.Why am I letting this bad patch bring me down? Things happen for a reason. I need to stop sulking and start enjoying the journey. “Build a bridge Bron and get over it!”

Shame on YOU!

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Bo

I had 2 hours and 4 minutes to myself during Sunday morning’s 15 km Colgate running race and during this time, two topics crossed my mind: the pair of skinny jeans I had purchased the day before and the YOU magazine cover featuring Kate vs. Kim.

Trying to find a new pair of jeans on Saturday had put me in such a bad mood. I could only find jeans that were either skinny or bootleg. Nothing in-between. In my mind, this means that you are either fat or thin. There’s no middle ground. I consider my body to be more of an in-between kinda shape. I resent the name ‘skinny’ for an item of clothing! It’s no wonder women have such issues about their bodies.

To that point, the second issue is with YOU magazine. Last week’s cover page is shocking. To compare two very different pregnant women’s bodies using the wording waif vs. whale is disgusting. Love her or hate her but I feel sorry that so much negative attention has been focused on Kim Kardashian’s body. Why do women not stand up and support one another? Then again, it is the YOU.

The ironic thing is that as I thought about these issues, I looked around. The female runners passing me during the race where either thin or large. Some of them were tall, others were short. Each had a very different but uniquely shaped body. More importantly, all of them were strong, fit, healthy and beautiful! Trust me, there’s something to be said for running next to a chubby woman pushing a pram for 15kms and not being able to keep up!

These are the inspiring stories we need to be focused on as women. Regardless of the size of our bodies, majority of women are great role models. We should not be defined by the name given to a style of jeans or what a trashy tabloid considers acceptable.