Today I went live on Facebook to talk about our efforts to eradicate the words “I can’t” from our vocabularies.
I think my favorite part of the #IAmLimitless movement is the PERSEVERANCE, even in the face of adversity. It’s easy feeling on top of the world and like anything is possible when things are going well. It’s SO much harder to hold onto that when things get tough and don’t go how you expect them to.
Think of it in terms of running. When things feel great, I could run forever. When they don’t, every step forward is like moving lead-covered legs. Or my yoga practice. I love when it feels utterly luscious, but there are definitely days where things are just downright uncomfortable and I can’t hold anything. It’s easy to want to go run or go do yoga when things feel good. But they don’t always. It can be really hard, and even seem impossible. But that doesn’t mean I can’t. Ever. No matter how much we might like to say it…
As my girl Genevieve said, being LIMITLESS is a mindset. Our brains work in so many mysterious ways, including telling ourselves lies about what we are capable of doing and inflicting self-doubt, causing us to say “I can’t.”
Take Christine’s example of pull-ups. I for one haven’t done a pull-up since elementary school. For whatever reason. When I look at a pull-up bar or one of those hand grips on the wall meant for climbers, I feel this immediate kernel of self-doubt. My brain automatically tells me I can’t do a pull-up. WHY?! Maybe I haven’t done one in years and years. Maybe I’m recovering from an injury. Maybe I don’t have the upper body strength to do one, at least for now. However, NONE of those reasons mean that I’ll never be able to do a pull-up. Most people aren’t able to bust out pull-ups like a Marine with no training whatsoever. It’s exactly that, you train. You set the goal, you set up a plan with small and achievable steps to work with, and you prove that “can’t” is just a word that has zero effect on you.
Autumn talked about how the mind can set these limits for us, using self-doubt and other “mechanisms” we’ll call them. Autumn was out sledding with her family, but was afraid to sled over the lake. A fair fear, but what was blocking her was the fear she’d break the ice. Unfounded since there were plenty of other adults sledding right there as well. The brain is just plain weird sometimes. To look at it objectively is kind of fascinating to me, which is probably why I majored in psychology. But it’s so hard to do that for yourself. It takes so much courage to recognize what your obstacles are, confront them, and then kick them to the curb! Oh, and Autumn totally sledded her butt off!
Sometimes there IS a real physical limit, like De’s foot being in a boot, Jamie’s placenta previa, my dad’s recovery. Being active people, we definitely identify with the activities we love to do. And when we can’t do those things, all kinds of stuff comes up. We feel frustrated and down, depressed even. And probably more stressed since we can’t do what is an outlet. We question our identities. We feel like failures. All of this sounds very dramatic, but we all know it’s a very real feeling. And it generally doesn’t come up until you literally can’t do something. Like when I tweak my shoulder and can’t handstand, who am I? won’t stop ringing through my head. But the idea of being LIMITLESS is pushing through, and our tribe is absolutely doing that!
I’m in NO way condoning De to take her foot out of the boot and go run, or for Genevieve to run on her sprained ankle. That’s not what I mean. I mean “pushing through” by feeling a little down, acknowledging it, and then getting the eff over it. I tell myself this all the time, even right now with a bum hip and knee. So I can’t go run 5-10 miles 4 times a week right now. So what?! I CAN go do yoga, I CAN go to spin class, I CAN go for a hike, and CAN do all the Gixo cross training workouts to get my hip back in working order.
It’s a shift in expectations. A shift in mindset. A decision to focus on what I can do rather than dwell on what I word-previously-known-as-can’t.
I’ve LOVED seeing De working core and pull-ups with that boot on her foot. I’ve loved seeing Jamie, who is THE ultra runner / mountain goat extraordinaire, back in the pool swimming laps and getting her miles in walking everywhere while she can’t really run (thanks, Baby Danger). I’ve seen that resilience in my dad, when at the happiest and healthiest I’ve ever seen him had to get a bone marrow transplant. He can’t ski and paddle board yet, but he’s out walking the beach and trucking on the stationary bike in our gym.
LIMITLESS is mental. It’s being able to push through the blocks your brain wants to put on you. The fear, the self-doubt, the anxiety. All of those thoughts and emotions are real. We’re human and they happen. Being LIMITLESS is about what you do when those emotions are flowing. Are you going to sit back and wallow, or are you going to cry it out and then get back out there however you can??
Let’s celebrate being LIMITLESS together! Join Nic, me, and everyone else tuning in today at 2pm PT for the 5k Walk or Run with Gixo. And keep sharing what makes you LIMITLESS.
Want to talk LIMITLESS with me? Check it out!
Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by Gixo. All opinions expressed are my own. I truly appreciate all of the brands that support the Sweat Pink community.
Yesss, motto for this year, indeed … it’s all about doing more of what we CAN!
Well said Liz. It’s all about training the mind to think in the I Can perspective. It’s hard work but worth it, and it really works! Woot woot!