“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he…” Prov. 23:7a

I was never athletic growing up. I toyed around with working out now and then, but really, my youth and subsequent 20s were mostly spent sitting down somewhere.

That said, this past weekend I ran my second half marathon. I even beat my original time. These days, I spend most of my time either recovering from an intense workout or running on the beach, trail or city streets for miles. I’m preparing to run my first full marathon (26.2 miles, yikes!) in late October. To say my life has taken a dramatic shift is an understatement.

Most of my friends knew me prior to all this athleticism and admire my moxy. But in truth (and with a doctor’s okay), anyone in reasonable health can run. We were created to do this, and it is really quite simple. I tell people all the time that you really only need thing to run long distances: you need to know you can.

So much of accomplishing any difficult task is what you think you’re capable of. It really is all in your head. From the very first day I signed up for a race, I decided this was a goal I could conquer, and despite bad days, injuries and setbacks, I never let myself believe that it couldn’t be done. And that helped me persevere. When you think can, the option of quitting is off the table.

At the same time, if you automatically assume you can’t do something, you set yourself up for failure. You make any effort towards that goal twice as hard, and in most cases that kind of attitude will prevent you from even trying.

Think about your thoughts today. What are you telling yourself you can or cannot do? Remember this quote by Henry Ford: “Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, you’re right.”