Personal Challenge. .. What are yours?

Week 4 Day 1

My mind is a liar.

In spite of successfully completing c25k before (pounds heavier, mind you!), for whatever reason, doubts have been in my head. Right now, they were mainly focused from going 1:30 running/3:00 running to 3:00/5:00 running. Since I seemed to be struggling at 3 minutes even forcing myself to slow down., 5 minutes seemed really rough.

The other day at the end of week 3, day 3, I was able to run for 5 minutes at the very end to prove to myself that I could. It felt great to know that I could.

Rolling into week 4 today though, wasn't without its reservation. Could I do it over and over again? Could I slow down enough to keep myself where I needed to be while still being in a 'run'?

Wasn't easy, but I got through it.


In 90 degree weather. High noon. Dripping more sweat than I knew what to do with. I did it.




So.. What does any of this have to do with issuing anyone who would like to accept a personal challenge?

I realized when taking this picture that not all of my challenges are weight related. I would venture that for some of you, this is also the case. Not all of our problems with weight have to do with numbers going down on a scale.

So.. I thought while we are focusing on our bodies, we could also focus on our minds.

My Personal challenge for the week is..

To NOT say anything disparaging about myself or my appearance. My first reaction to this picture was to compare, to be critical, to pick apart all the things that have changed or I want to change. How much better I felt like I looked when etc..

This is not how this works.

I am changing. I am feeling better already in my body and how I carry myself. I am trying to change how I feel inside too. I can't always see those changes right away.. and sometimes this doesn't translate to photos, but they are there. Instead of spending so much time trying to look at the things I no longer have, I am trying to look at the things I do.

And right now, the things I have are just getting over a mental hurdle that my mind said I wouldn't overcome.

That's worth something.

What about you? What is your personal challenge?