The Importance Of Self Praise

It took awhile for the importance of self-praise to sink in. I understood it from an intellectual perspective but not viscerally. This evening I felt it viscerally. I'm beginning to understand the importance on a deep level.

The partial hospitalization program that I was in last month kept harping on self praise and positive affirmation as a way to help re-frame negative thoughts into positive ones. At the time, I just nodded my head and went with the flow. Now I get it; combat the negative thoughts actively. Always find something positive in whatever you do. This is what finally percolated in my brain.

I haven't ridden my prized Cannondale R1000 Aero in 10 years and I'm proud of myself simply for dragging it out of storage and putting air in the tires. Tomorrow, I will get the bike cleaned and tuned. I'll also replace the tire inner tubes with new ones for safety reasons. I'm going to do this work myself with a bike mechanic to help out when needed. I'm happy that I'm going to do this.

Come this Saturday, my goal is to ride my bike on the Jack A. Markell trail. The trail is flat and rated as easy which is a perfect beginning for me. I suspect it won't be easy for me so my goal is simple: love myself for whatever distance I may cover. The only goal is to sit on the seat, allow my feet to touch the pedals, and turn the crank a few times. Anything beyond that is a happy bonus.

One of the most important affirmations is: I can. I'm willing. I'm able. Right now I'm all three of these things and will be applying them to riding.