"Alarm Clock 3" by alancleaver_2000 via Flickr

Every morning during my run, I think the same thing:  I can’t do this.

I know I have three to five miles to run every morning with longer runs on Saturdays, and even though I have been running almost a year and a half now, I always think there’s no way I can get through the first 15 minutes. I can think of a million other things I should be doing, oh, like sleeping. My legs are sore from the day before. My lungs are burning. And, for some reason, my music always stinks.

Then something happens right around the 15 minute mark. I’m suddenly okay. The music gets better. My lungs stop burning. My respirations even out. My legs loosen up. And, I just run. Hellllooooo, endorphins!

I realized this pattern about six months into running. I still think, I can’t do this, every single morning. The difference is, though, that now I know I just have to get through the first 15 minutes. Suddenly, I can do this. Then I just do it.

It took a while to recognize the consistent thinking and story I told myself daily; I recognized it, though, and changed my thinking. What are you telling yourself every day?