Yesterday I was working out on the Peloton. Emma Lovewell – Peloton was my instructor and she was encouraging me to challenge myself with the resistance knob on the bike. She said something very interesting — which I will not be able to quote exactly because I was more interested in breathing as I struggled to “climbed a hill” she had set before us. She was asking us to add resistance, add resistance, add resistance and finally she said, “The mind doesn’t like to do things that are hard and challenging; the mind wants us to stay in our comfort zone.” If I had any extra air at that point, I would have shouted, “SO TRUE!”

But if I don’t challenge myself physically, or with my career, or any other challenge in my life, how will I get better? If you change nothing, then nothing changes. So maybe we shouldn’t always listen to our mind? My mind definitely wanted me to turn the resistance down on that bike, but Emma Lovewell – Peloton absolutely DID NOT, and she told me so! So I listened to her, not my mind. I was proud of myself when I finished that ride, covered in sweat and exhausted. My mind was wrong, quitting wasn’t the right answer and neither was less resistance. I was stronger than I knew—and so are you!

So whether we’re sitting on a bike or sitting in our office, that story should resonate with all of us. The mind is very often wrong. It wants to keep us safe, but in doing so, it also keeps us small. You and I are capable of so much more—but we let our mind talk us out of things! Today, we all need a little Emma Lovewell – Peloton, whispering in our ear, telling us, “YOU CAN DO IT! KEEP GOING!”

With Gratitude,

Beth