Push YourSelf

Have you ever noticed that as soon as you start to think about how much pain you are in, the pain gets even worse? Controlling the messages you send to yourself is the key to sustaining intense effort. Your perception of the pain you are experiencing has an impact on your ability to tolerate it. Instead of focusing on feeling miserable, connect the feeling of pain to getting stronger. Connect the feeling of pain to accomplishing your goals. Associate the pain with something positive versus something negative. Fighting against the pain only makes it worse. Learn to accept the pain and appreciate it as part of the experience. Here are some powerful thoughts to try out when you are deep in the pain cave and want to run out!

* “Everybody is suffering.” Repeat this phrase to yourself. You are not the only one out there in pain. Your competitors might have their game face on, but they are hurting just as much as you are.

* “The pain will be over soon. I can do anything for ____ minutes.” Knowing that there is a finite end to the suffering you are currently enduring can help you hold out just a little longer.

* “Suffering gets me closer to my goal.” This is a powerful message to send to yourself. You are basically changing your perception of the physical feeling of pain from something negative to something positive. Connect the feeling of pain to getting stronger and accomplishing your goals.

* Power Cue Words/Phrases:
Sometimes you need a power word – something you go to when you need to make that extra push. Everyone’s word might be different, but it is usually one word that you can repeat over and over to yourself that makes you feel strong and ready to put out a big effort. Repeating words or phrases like I Got This! power, Push..will influence how you feel and how you perform. Practice using your power cue words or phrases the next time you have intervals during a training.Try out a couple words and see what works best for you. If you really want to see the impact your thoughts have on your performance, during one of your workouts try repeating the word slowly over and over and you will quickly be convinced of the power your thoughts have on your performance.

* Practice controlling your thoughts so that they work for you instead of against you!