When you’re down
And troubled
And you need a helping hand
And nothing, oh nothing is going right.
Close your eyes and think of me
And soon I will be there
To brighten, even your darkest hour…
Familiar tune? Yeah, its a good one, and nothing beats the new-ish James Taylor and Carol King duet version. But do not, I repeat DO NOT listen to it when you are making an “I’m Awesome Collage.” Tears interfere with the sticking-power of Elmer’s Glue, and the crappy photocopies of already yellowed pictures look even worse when they start to ripple from the moisture.
I also don’t recommend playing the “Team Mix” from freshman year or you will discover that your collage is completely dominated by pictures of college with old boyfriends in the background when you are now 29 years old and married.
An “I’m Awesome Collage,” when made properly, will help pull you out of a dark, insecure time and remember how great you are. I embarked on one today for that very purpose. After six weeks of time off from my stubborn foot injury, my fighting spirit is starting to feel a bit drafty. Selective memory will clearly recall all the pain and disappointment of my career, while blacking out the joys. If you’ve been down and out, you know what I mean. Without intervention, the case for negativity takes over and the only logical decision is to quit…to put your energy into something more rewarding.
A collage is something I’d heard of many people doing, but had never tried myself. It always seemed a bit over-the-top-I-love-myself. I mean, what do you do if someone sees it? “Hey, yeah, that’s just a big ass poster with pictures of myself all over it. Uh huh, that does say “I am King of the Universe and Deserve my Own International Holiday.” If I made one, I figured I’d have to hide it in a closet somewhere, so what would be the point?
Well, after three hours of photo selecting, copying, magazine cutting, and gluing, I see firsthand the benefits are in the making, not in creating appreciable art. After finally dialing in the right tear-free music on Pandora, I was in a groove, working away with a subtle smile on my face.
Picking the photos was the best part, each one begging the question: “Does this image make me feel good about myself somehow?” The resulting pile of individually clipped and cropped images included many racing shots, but also pictures with teammates, loved ones, adventures, and other candid moments of me being 100% myself.
Rather than spend a ton of time deciding what goes where on the board, I implemented the hectic and exciting spray-glue method, (which I highly recommend). I placed all my cutouts next to the poster board and sprayed the entire board in one shot. That gave me one hot minute to stick everything on before the glue dried. Florence and the Machine played “Cosmic Love” in the background. My positive, love-filled life flashed before my eyes.
FYI: Nastia Liukin made a vision board when she trained for the 2008 Olympics and if you talked to anyone then, people would’ve bet Shawn Johnson was going to win (the Olympic All-Around, that is). And look how Nastia ended up doing! I’ve always wanted to make a vision board after I heard/saw that, but never have, for fear someone would see it. Kind of like I hide any running books I have, which I guess is now not so secret if I wrote it here. Anyways, hope your injury turns around soon. Keep it up!
I remember watching that! Well Meggie, don’t be afraid to do it. I hope the fact that I broke down and did one gives you a good excuse to make your own vision board. I had to get comfortable with affirmations first. Why are we so afraid of putting what we want on paper? Is it that we fear failing? I mean, what’s the big deal if we put ridiculous things on a board just because they make us feel good to look at them. Isn’t that reason enough? If we have to get through day after day of life challenges, maybe that board is less about what is specifically on it, and more about how it gives us courage to attack the challenges of the day.
Hmm…good point. I’ve got 10 days vacation now and a lot of free time on my hands, so maybe I will. I think a lot of people may not do it is because they’re afraid their vision is too unrealistic. That’s why I’ve never done it — my vision of my life is more of a fantasy that I want to believe will come true, but know its not so realistic. For instance, I want to be invited on a talk show as a Fertility Specialist, specifically the View, if that’s around in 20 years. So, when I got tickets to the View the other day and can’t go (vacation), I thought to myself “I only want to go to the View when I’m invited on it!” That is completely crazy and, dear Lord, I hope no one I know in real life reads this or they will certify me crazy.
There is no reason why that couldn’t happen. And what if you put it on a collage and it doesn’t happen? You would have had 20 years of positively pumping yourself up everyday before going out into the world. Something tells me a few other great things might result from that along the way…maybe even something better that you don’t know exists yet.
Well, thanks. I can let you know in 2017 if its starting to become a reality. And looks like I’ll need to make said vision board since they’re upping the boston qualifying standards. And you know what I say – BRING IT ON, BITCHES. [but, if they lower them any more than 3:35, I’m just going to have to wait until I get significantly older :)]
It’s unfortunate that a collage cannot have video. Otherwise, in my opinion, all I would need to see is you last 600m in the 2010 USATF 5000m finals. That’s not a collage…that’s courage!
Thanks Matthew.
Hehe… No, Matthew, that’s BALLS! 😛
Lauren, I still chuckle thinking about your post-race interview. Awesome.
I still have that cd by the way.
Collage is awesome; I approve 🙂 I love how you can incorporate designs from magazines and stuff into your own unique project. Thanks for the what-not-to-do tips as well.
The magazine clippings were actually an addition from my friend Steph Rothstein. Way to go Steph!
This article made me smile, because I made an inspirational bulletin board/collage over the summer and hung it in my room! I tacked on a bunch of pictures of me with the various running groups I’m part of, not just my high school teams, but also adventure relay race teams, groups of friends I’ve done road races with, my running camp friends, etc. That helped remind me that part of why running is such an amazing sport is that it opens you up to such a large community of friends, and you rarely find anyone in running who doesn’t encourage you to succeed. Also on the board, I put pictures of some of my favorite professional runners and some inspirational quotes to go with them. Pre is on there with his suicide quote, Ryan Hall with “Running Changes Lives,” and (you guessed it!) Lauren Fleshman made it onto the board with two quotes. One is “BALLS,” and has a picture of you finishing the 5000, and the other is a quote I got from this blog; “Running is not who I am; It’s something I do; It’s something I love.” The inspirational board is great, I look at it all the time and I love it. I actually think it adds to the decoration of my room, aside from being a great motivator.
Any way, I found it very coincidental that you posted this, considering you’re actually ON my board. Thanks for the inspiration!
That’s an awesome coincidence, and I’m honored to be on your board 🙂
There are many relationships on my board as well…and now that you mention it, that totally fits in with that quote “Running is not who I am; its something I do; its something I love.” But here’s an interesting thought: after doing something (running) for enough years, the things that you do determine the people you are around which inevitably effects who you love and who you are. But its not the running that does that…Its the people that do that, but you’d never know the people if it weren’t for running. Kinda weird when you think about it.
I just wanted to say thank you so much for this post. I just found out last week that I need to have surgery on my meniscus putting quite the crimp on my last season that I stayed a fifth year in school to have and could definitely use reminder of healthier times, some of my favorites definitely being competing at Hayward, what a great facility you get daily access to! I may well set out on my own collage-making this week.
Emily, that is such a bummer about losing this season, but I’m glad you are in a University setting when finding out you need knee surgery. You will undoubtedly be given great care and have amazing PT’s and athletic trainers to get you back on your feet. Remember, the weeks will pass between injury and health whether you make yourself miserable, or at peace (I’ve done both). Now I think, why not do everything we can to be at peace?