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I consider myself a happy and positive person. I can usually find the bright side in almost any situation. I love riding my bike outside.
However, during our bike ride two weekends ago, I was filled with negativity.
It was windy. And I can't seem to quiet my mind when I bike in the wind.
While I could rationalize that the strong headwind was incredibly challenging to ride through, my mind found it incredibly easy to tell me how horrible of a cyclist I was, how slow I was riding, how much my legs were hurting and so on and so on. The negative thoughts wouldn't stop until we turned around. It was at this point that my mind had no trouble staying quiet while soft pedaling at speeds over 25 mph in the tailwind.
I feel like I need a sign that reads "I'm sorry for what I said when I was riding my bike in the wind."
This situation had me thinking about how our thoughts are often so closely linked to how we feel and act. Riding in the wind had me thinking that I was not a strong rider and because of that situation, I wanted to stop my workout. Certainly this thought process wasn't productive (or true).
This past week was a big week of training for myself. I've increased my swim, bike and run volume and my body is feeling more sore than normal. I started a lot of workouts questioning how I would be able to start the workout but thankfully, my body continued to impress me.
We all have uninvited, negative thoughts at times. Typically they aren't a problem in and of themselves. They only become a problem when we believe (and act on) those thoughts. The more you think negatively, the quicker negative thoughts can spiral into overthinking. Constantly thinking that you aren't good enough, that things will never get better, you are worthless, nobody likes you or trying isn't worth it..... well, this is when negative thinking becomes an issue.
Just because you have a thought, this does not mean it's true.
Because negative thoughts can impact how you feel about yourself, remember the three Cs.
- Catch
- Challenge
- Change
- Catch - In order to change your negative thinking, you first need to recognize that you are thinking negatively. Because many thoughts are automatic, it can be difficult to catch yourself starting to spiral into negative thinking. You may find yourself thinking negatively because you are trying to predict the future and using words like "what if." Or you may be thinking all or nothing. You may find that you have high expectations for yourself which are unreasonable.
- Challenge - Now that you recognize your negative thoughts, you need to challenge them. Do you have any credible evidence for or against your thoughts? Give yourself a pause and think objectively about the situation.
- Change - Finally, replace the negative thought with a more positive one. Try to approach a situation with a curious mindset (instead of a fixed one).