Starting Week 4: Don't Give Up

I woke up late today but still got up and went for my walk.  Missing one was bad enough and I knew I could make all the excuses in the world but I'd only feel miserable if I failed once again.  I was going to take a shorter route since I thought I'd be pressed for time but stuck to the longer route.  I didn't add any distance with this beginning of Week 4.  I didn't feel quite ready for that yet.  I clocked the route I'm taking now and it's 2 1/2 miles.

There was nothing exciting on my walk today.  No deer or skunks but I did see one bunny off in the distance.  Very few people out this morning so I had a lot of time with my thoughts!
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I was thinking about the hard work that comes before success.  On one hand I really didn't want to be out this morning, I would have rather stayed in bed for awhile.  On the other hand I was proud of myself for sticking to it and getting out there.  I realized that I've never worked hard enough before to realize any of my goals.  When the going gets hard, I'd give up.  I'd make up excuses and quit doing the things that would make my dreams a reality.

What hit me really hard this morning was that by quitting the steps that will lead me to success I was giving up on myself.  And by quitting I was saying that I wasn't worth it!  If I want to achieve my goal I have to work for it!  It's not going to come just because I want it.  I have to go out and WORK HARD for it!  It won't be all fun & games.  There will be times when I want to quit, when I want to give up.  But those are the times when I have to suck it up and push on.  So right now, my enthusiasm is lagging and in the past this is the time when I would just give up.  But not this time.  This time I pushed on.

When I was walking this morning I just kept telling myself to picture me running.  To imagine what it'll feel like.  Self-talk and visualization are what got me through today.  Very helpful tools that I'd never used in the past.