The Power of Positive Words

During the course of Nashville Adventure Boot Camp, der Fuhrer (aka young Josh) sends all us gals a daily email. In his missive, he starts off by telling us what we did that morning. This is valuable to me, because during the session my brain works overtime to (a) breathe correctly, (b) execute the exercise correctly, and (c) count how many of the torture moves I am semi-completing. To remember actually what I did would be impossible, since after the morning session my muscles (or at least what is in the space that should be occupied by muscles) refuse to speak to me at all.

Anyhow, Herr Josh also sends along a daily recipe, a few health and exercise tips, and other random butt-camp-related messages. He always ends his manifesto with a shout out to a few of us inmates. Every person in the group will get a shout-out during the four weeks. He finds something encouraging to say about whomever's day it is to be shouted out to. Even on my day, he finds something good to say (and not, "Kudos to Luanne for not having a heart attack today!"). It's always great to read the verbal applause - you can't help but feel inspired, even when it's not your day.

The saying goes, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." Why not just say nice things on a regular basis? People can be encouraged just hearing supportive words, even if they're meant for somebody else. Sometimes, just by hearing words that encourage another, we are encouraged to keep going. We all want to believe that someone believes in us, and all it takes is a positive word heard out loud.

As for me, I'm still the slowest jogger in the class. I still can't hold a front plank for 45 seconds. I still am waiting for my abdominal muscles to resurrect from the dead. But I keep trying. This week, The Boss noticed and mentioned it. While it may not directly help my walking lunges (or lunge-ettes in my case), it helps me believe I will eventually get there.

Sometimes that's all it takes - a positive thought expressed out loud - that keeps us headed in the right direction. It helps us realize we're not alone and that somebody's paying attention to our efforts. It gives us the emotional and mental power to keep going, when our physical strength may be waning.

All it takes is a good word or two, and somebody to say them. We've just got to remember that sometimes, that somebody is us.
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Things that make today great: Taking Maribeth to the airport and her surprise rental car experience; attic cleaning and Pier One-ing with Molly; kitty cuddling with Maggie and Grayson