Swing of the pendulum

When the pendulum swings towards a more positive trajectory we start to see the world in a completely different light. It's funny--I think the sun is even out today after a period of rain and dark clouds. Or maybe I haven't even noticed the weather because I've been carrying around a dark storm cloud over my head for the last week and a half.

I was wrong about that Dr. Slick, and perhaps I should start calling him Dr. Nice Guy because he delivered good news yesterday. After seeing the MRI he confirmed that there is no new tear in my meniscus. Whew! I can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

All this good news was followed by several good things:

1. The Sacramento Monarchs won their first game in the WNBA Finals. Next game against the Detroit Shock is on Friday and can be seen on ESPN 2 7:30pm EST.

2. I had a great therapy session followed by a great lesson this morning.

3. It's a month out from the first day of World Championships and I am finally feeling strong and ready.

This is all in stark contrast to yesterday.

When days are good I can silence the negative thoughts but when the days are bad those negative thoughts somehow find their way to a loud speaker. Yesterday I allowed those negative thoughts ("you're not good enough" and "you can't do this" and "you'll never be able to do this") to cripple me and I couldn't continue working. My coach had to stop the lesson half way through because I could no longer execute the simplest actions. Nat then sat me down and took some time to talk me down off of that ledge. I have to remember that some days will be better than others but I can't allow myself to feel like the glass is no longer half full.

Today I asked Nat how she is able to silence the negative thoughts and she said, "I find happiness in the little things like a sunny day, my beautiful home, my relationships, etc. Try reading the front page of the newspaper and then you won't feel so badly about your life." Meaning, even when you put all of your focus into doing something it is key to maintain the proper perspective when the going gets tough because one day--this too shall pass.