The Positive Side of Negative Self-Talk

Sarah never takes the library elevators because they scare her.

I rarely take the library elevators because I mock myself whenever I find myself walking toward one of them.

I have an inventory of self-deprecating automatic thoughts that come to mind unbidden at disturbingly frequent intervals in my life. Most of these are debilitating, or at least make me miserable, so I am learning (in fits and starts) to stop them in their tracks and replace them with empowering self-talk.

There is one thought, however, that, while technically negative, is positively motivating, so I haven't made any effort to change it:

"Only lazy-a$$ scholars take the elevator."

Every time I'm tempted to take the elevator, this sentence jumps to mind. But I am not a lazy-A scholar; I will take the stairs. Even when the book I need is on the EIGHTH FLOOR of Davis Library at UNC. (I admit, this almost makes me feel like an athlete.) Sometimes this is the only exercise I get in a day. Sometimes, because of the layout of the divinity school, I've trekked up and down 20 flights of stairs before lunch, which can actually amount to a decent workout.

1 comments:

Sarah Conrad Sours said...

Laughing hysterically here.

I actually gave up elevators one year for Lent--a year that I lived in a fourth-floor apartment. Nowadays, taking an elevator for anything less than four flights of stairs does indeed feel lazy-a$$. (This brings no happiness to Isaac's life.)

However, I still avoid the Div Library's elevators out of fear.

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