Choose your attitude

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Bo

Last week, someone on Twitter posed the question: do you prefer running in the mornings or the afternoons and why?

Without hesitation, I replied saying, “Definitely afternoon. It gives me time to clear my head after a stressful day”. I then sat back and thought about it… the question I asked myself was, “Why the stress? What’s going on?”

On the work front, things have never been better. Never before have I had such clear direction as to what my role is and what is required from me. (Thanks Sue).

The stress is coming from those around me, my colleagues and the politics at work.

The facts: I work for a large corporate. Red tape, bureaucracy, processes, and especially politics is always going to form part of the culture of my working environment. People are busy. They have jobs to do, deliverables that have to be met, outputs with tight deadlines.

What gets to me most is that regardless of the facts, majority of people have become almost institutionalised. They’ve forgotten to greet one another; they’ve forgotten to smile, to laugh, to have fun and even to respect one another. The smallest of issues gets blown out of proportion and they don’t look for solutions, but blame.

Most days I see colleagues walking out the door to go home with heavy shoulders, tired faces and lifeless.What those negative, frustrated, moaning people at work don’t realise is that their attitudes can make or break someone else’s day. That their constant complaining, back-stabbing and negative comments do little but create an environment where it’s a challenge not to get sucked into all the politics but to rise above it and remain positive.

A colleague asked me the other day, “Bron, how do you do it. How do you manage to smile and be so positive with all this going on around you?”

My answer: Well, you just have to. Some things won’t change. Corporate world is the same no matter where you go. But it’s the way you deal with situations and those involved which makes the difference.

… and at least I am able to run off that stress when I get home.

Try again. If that fails, try again.

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Bo

I did not have the best of week’s last week. Having received the news from my running coach that I had not followed my training schedule correctly and had therefore not improved as he would’ve liked sent me into a depressed spiral where I questioned my running and considered quitting.

I got blasted by my coach for even having thoughts of quitting. He said to me: Get your mind right!

Ironically, this is where I am lacking in “strength”. I am disciplined enough to train every day. I have even changed my diet, cutting out wheat and red meats. I drink enough water and have ensured I wear all the running gadgets one can buy. All the boxes are ticked. But getting up when I have fallen down is so difficult.

Previously, when it came to motivating myself and getting my head space right, I would sit quietly and repeat positive statements to myself. I would envisage myself running and completing races. I would fill my time with reading motivational running books. It would always be a very private and personal journey.

But there’s something I realised a few months ago when I started my blogging. When it comes to believing in my abilities, nothing helps me do that more than realising that others believe in me. In fact, spending time with people that build me up is exactly what I spent the week doing.

Dinner with a best friend (who meticulously read back to me every sentence from my coach’s email and analysed each comment with a fine tooth comb and turned each sentence into a positive statement – Marci, you mean the world to me), to the awesome run with an inspirational friend from Cape Town (Rogeema, you are too awesome for words) and an Iron Man (Morne) who surprised me with a visit, right down to the motivational tweets and caring comments on my blog telling me that quitting is not an option and that they believed in me.

There’s nothing that touched my heart more than realising that other people are so willing to share in my running pains and get me through the bad times.

I’m back up. I’m running.

Dear coach, let’s start again. I’m ready.

Talking to a non-tweeter about tweeps

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Bo

I bumped in to an old friend at a function this afternoon. Whenever I see her, I am always reminded that there are in fact some people ‘out there’ who simply do not understand the meaning and purpose behind Twitter. As much as you try and explain it to them, unless they give it a try, they will never really ‘get it’.

You see, unless you’re familiar with it, the world of Twitter is a strange and sometimes confusing, sometimes euphoric place to be. It is filled with times of ups and downs. Times when you get bored with it, and other times when you can’t get enough. I would have to say that the best thing about it is the making of new friends and being among the first ones to know about breaking news. (If you’re not convinced, check out @mandywiener’s running commentary of the Donovan Moodley court case!)

It did occur to me the other day that as a tweep, I’ve grown up quite a lot since I started tweeting. I have come through the addiction phase without getting divorced, I have survived nasty remarks from strangers on Twitter and realised how easy it is to brush them off and I’m no longer constantly worried about what people think of my tweets or if they’ll be offended. There’s only so much you can explain in a toneless environment.

I’ve learnt to realise that my Twitter friends are really genuine and have made a real effort in the real world. I’ve become close to so many people that I’ve met on Twitter.

I have learnt that people on Twitter can be really cruel to one another and that while they tend to mock ~~Lamebook~~ Facebook, my “friends” on Facebook are a lot more patient and understanding. They also have more time for me on the rare occasion that I visit them online.

Twitter is about communities. The breakfast (now supper) gang really has fun. The Friday burgers ‘n beers crew is a great way to end my week. But it’s the running community that not only inspires me but makes me realise that I am not alone in my running trials and tribulations. The minute I have a bad running day, I am bombed with messages of support.

The biggest lesson I’ve learnt is that even if I am interacting 24/7 with so many people, those closest to me and in my life (especially those not on Twitter) have ‘lost’ a bit of me.

They don’t get to speak to me all day. They don’t get to hear my chirps and my jokes. They don’t know if I’ve had a bad day or get to share in something awesome I’ve just heard. They lose out on a running commentary of my thoughts. Complete strangers that follow me now have that privilege.

This is something I’m working on…even if it means using the phone to talk and not to tweet! Weird.

Sadness. Disappointment. Please can today be over?

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Bo

Marla passed away at 7am this morning. The question I wanted to desperately to ask her in October last year has been answered. It took 4 months for the brain tumour to take her from us. Good bye Marla. I’m heartbroken.

My running coach emailed me to say he is very disappointed in my results. After 4 weeks of intense training, I am still slow and have not improved. I am so upset. I hate my running so much right now. I’m shattered.

I just wanna crawl into a ball and cry and cry and cry.