This week (11.11.02) I decided that on my week off I would attend a Bootcamp week in Plymouth with a friend.
I based my decision to attend this residential Bootcamp around the fact that I had not been properly exercising in a few months following injuries of various descriptions. I had suffered with a shoulder injury in the early summer months that just seemed to go on+on which, in turn meant that I didn’t train properly at that time + then following advice from a Nutritionist I rested for 6 weeks to try to re balance the hormone disruption that has been happening for some time through stress (years of the bugger! 😉 So walking the talk that I do, I rested by taking sauna’s, going for long walks, and educating myself even more on Nutrition. I even tried Yoga once with a private coach which was LOVELY but quite expensive to do regularly. However, all this non-training and ‘resting’ has a funny impact on this soul of mine, one which I am working on BUT essentially lead me to the decision to come away for a week with my friend. To a full week of ACTUAL Bootcamp. A wise decision?
As the start date got nearer I found myself increasingly concerned about what I had undertaken.. Would it be too hard? Would I be too unfit? Would I miss my son? Would I be able to do everything? Would I be too tired? Why had I chosen to take a week of getting up early to exercise when I clearly needed the week to have lay-in’s? I began to question everything about my decision and noticed that my thinking became increasingly negative + pessimistic. I do work very hard to remain in the positive, to keep focused on my goals, to be a glass half full kinda gal because this doesn’t come naturally to me. Most of the time my little self-taught techniques work – leading up to the departure date however seemed to derail all my positive mantra’s ..
Have you ever been in a situation where you are looking at something extremely beautiful, either in a group or with a friend. You’re admiring the view and one person focuses on one negative aspect of the beautiful scene/ object ie. A crack or a damaged brick, or the grey sky. That one person has focused their whole attention on that one negative thing that they have missed the whole beautiful view/ experience.
This was me last week.. I was totally focusing on the negatives of something that hadn’t even happened yet based on my own fear’s about my ability/ strength. These are what is commonly known as Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANTS) which can gravitate around and around in ones head literally paralysing ourselves with our ruminations. I am used to being like this, it does come completely natural to me to over analyse negatively. BUT these thoughts are NOT real and we do have a CHOICE about where our thoughts go because they are OUR thoughts. You are a thought-producing machine. When you realize this, you can begin to slow your thoughts down and allow your anxieties and fears to rest. The key is to realise when this is happening, get up, tell yourself to SHUT UP, find a distraction and do something positive, or write down ALL the GOOD things that are real in your life. When you notice self-limiting and self-defeating thoughts playing over and over in your mind, say “STOP! SHUT UP! I will not give you any more power over me! I have better things to do!!”
I did this, I told myself to SHUT UP, I didn’t give the negative thoughts any more attention, and HERE I AM! In very beautiful Plymouth by the sea exercising outside which you all know that I LOVE!
Unhappiness cannot exist on it’s own, it occurs because of thoughts that CAN be changed and that you DO have control over.
Remember this when you are feeling low + overwhelmed. You have the power to change it. You have more power and strength than you realise 🙂
Let me know if any of this blog resonates with you.
Take care,
Charlie x
http://www.cambridgebootcamps.co.uk
http://www.purplefitness.co.uk