Switch It On

The picture's not me and Thomas, but it was close. I'm visualizing running on the beach. Does that count?

Switch It On! That's what we're calling the program we use to switch from learned states of helplessness and fear and anxiety and hurt to new states that feel better. When you're hurting or afraid, even a neutral feeling is better than that. Once you practice letting yourself feel better, then you can reach for even better feeling places.

Last month when I got the idea to start running and it kept showing up in different places, I first got some books from the library to see what good things others had to say about it. Then I asked myself what thoughts I had about running that might keep me from wanting to do it. When I told Andries that my main thought about running was how much pain people went through and the injuries that they talked about as if they were just part of the deal, he told me that he never thinks about running that way. His thought is that it just makes you stronger and better. So I started tapping on those thoughts about hurting myself, and I found a program called Couch to 5K. Before I ran, I would tap, and if I started having some unusual minor discomfort, I would tap. Then I would tap afterwards for the soreness that I expected but didn't want. The possibilities are endless, but I will say that now I think of myself as a runner and that I will be able to run for the rest of my life. Now that's a switch for me!

Email us at peacerus@yahoo.com