Life and Death is in the Power of the Tongue

I hate you! You disgust me! I wish you were never born! I wish I had never married you. You're nothing to me!

Ouch...I think we can all agree that these words have power. These words can do damage, serious damage. We've all said hateful, regretful things, spoken daggers which we regretfully remember... We understand the harm these words cause when we say them to one another, right?

Then, why do we ignore the damaging effects words have when we say negative things about ourselves? I know I am using an extreme example here, but I'm trying to illustrate a point; words have power. How many times after races have I heard athletes beat themselves up negatively? I hear, "this just isn't my sport." Or, "I'll never be a fast runner." Or, "I'm fat. I'm slow. I suck at this." Well, I say, "STOP WITH THE NEGATIVITY!" Don't you realize your words have power and they can do serious damage?

When it comes to our sports, negative attitudes damage our outcomes in lots of ways. For one, they make you slower and less strong. They can make you lose or give up. They even hurt others. C'mon, you don't want that! Remember, last week I talked about those "creeping thoughts" and not allowing them to control your race or prevent you from doing your best? You've got to combat them with positive thoughts. I know this sounds crazy, but sometimes when I've almost gone cu-put at the end of a race, I will repeat the same thought over and over in my mind and it will be something like, "Sara, you are strong, you are powerful, you will pass that person." I'll repeat it over and over and over. Its amazing but by thinking positively, my chin will raise higher, my core engages stronger, and I am faster for it. You can be too.

Have you ever noticed that many of us won't even accept positive compliments? So many times I'll compliment my dearest friends on their remarkable performances (and I have the most remarkable friends around) and they will kind of nod me off... Or say, "whatever..." I always combat this with a reminder to just say, Thank you. Look, even if we don't believe it right at that second, start accepting the positive encouragement....You'd be surprised how much more confident you'll become, how much more mentally strong you will become, and how your performance will get better because of it.

Accept and Express the positive even if you don't believe it....after a while....you will.
OK, I'm gonna use another extreme example... When I was a little girl, I thought I was fat and ugly. Sad...I know. My mom had to listen to me putting myself down all the time. One afternoon, my mom and I were in the car and I was expressing my negative laundry list of adjectives for myself. She said this, "Sara, life and death is in the power of the tongue." I wish you could see yourself the way that I see you. You are beautiful and you're certainly not fat. She urged me to drop the negative garbage I was expelling and begin to verbalize the positive. I did. Then, I kept doing it. After awhile, I began to like what I saw in the mirror. It wasn't long after that I believed I was a beautiful person. Words have power.

Now, I apply this positive expression during my training and all my competitions. In fact, I strive to be positive in all facets of my life. I urge you to ACCEPT AND EXPRESS the positive. If you're not an athlete, and you aspire to be one, start to express that you are as you make the changes in your life. Start to express the positive.
No more verbal garbage. Continue on, even if you don't believe it at first. And remember, life and death is in the power of the tongue.