The other day I was running on the treadmill and having a particularly difficult time keeping up with my routine.  Some days I feel like I can run forever, but there are other days (particularly those back-to-back cardio days) where I feel as though I am running in quicksand.  Do you know what I mean?  It’s those days where you have to fight the entire time you are working out and each minute can feel like an eternity.  Those are the days where it feels like giving up might just be the best way to go, right? 

Well, I was in the middle of one of THOSE days when it occurred to me.  This is what tough love is all about.  Think about it.  What are the things we tell our kids when we are practicing tough love (or perhaps you remember your own parents telling you)?  Here are some I could think of:

“You’ll thank me when you’re older.”

“I’m doing this for your own good!”

“You need to eat your vegetables to grow up strong and healthy.”

There are so many of those sayings out there that we’ve all heard or used before.  Well, as I was struggling on the treadmill that morning, I started telling myself those same words.  Actually, I was saying them to my body. 

I told it that it would thank me for all this hard work when it was older and fighting off the advances of aging because of all the sacrifices it made when it was younger.  I told it that the struggling was for it’s own good and that it would feel great when it was over.  I told it that being sore was a badge of honor and that it could be proud of every single sore muscle it had. 

As these tough love sayings rolled through my mind, I began to feel energized and motivated again.  My thoughts had turned from “waaaah” and “this suuuuucks today” to “yeah girl, you can do this!” and “I OWN this run, it doesn’t own me!”

So yeah, sometimes talking smack to myself and possibly the treadmill (try saying “You can’t stop me treadmill, I OWN you!” when you are walking a gnarly 7.0 incline and see how it feels) can really make a difference on those rougher than usual days. 

What works for you?  Are there things you have to do or say to yourself to fight through those rough days?