My Story of Building Mental Resilience by Running Marathons

Last Year I ran 3 Marathons & this year till now I have completed 5 More . My experience of running 8 Marathons has taught me the most important Life Skills such as working with passion , perseverance,persistence & most importantly developing resilience.

1. Courage to Start : Initially it was almost unthinkable to even walk for 10 Kms .When I first decided to nominate myself for a 10 Km Marathon, all my colleagues & friends around me were telling me to quit my idea..They thought how do I set such a scary goal of running 10 KMs?But I somehow gathered the courage to start ......At times The most important step to success is just to Start a process.
2. ?Do it Now :"Tomorrow is another Day". But Today is mine . I must "Act Now". There is no tomorrow to start eating right or doing exercises . We must do it now . I am still overweight & need to put lots of hard work to improve my overall run timing. Infact I find myself as one of the slowest runners in any all Marathons that I participate in but I believe in "Do it Now". I run with my extra kilos as I want to do it now. This is a life changing lesson for me . Life is about choices & I make the right choice to "Do it Now" focusing my thoughts on the present.
3. Challenge Yourself ; Change yourself :I challenge myself to change myself. On the day of Marathon I need to wake up very early in the morning.(Normally by 4 AM or so). Then after the run starts I need to continuously run /jog/ walk till the finish line is reached .It develops my resilience. I persevere to finish . And the moment I finish I get convinced that If I can run a Marathon then off course I can do all the things that I decide to. In this way I change my self belief by challenging myself continuously.
4. Run Against the Distance & not against other runners :This is the power of setting right goals & competing against my own self . Trying to beat my own timings of last Marathon. When I run Marathons I cherish each second as I move closer to the finish line. I learn to compete with myself & not with others .

One of the most important ingredients to success is a strong belief in yourself and your capabilities. Running marathons have an uplifting,positive impact on me . As I touch the finish line each & every time , I find a more confident "Me"in myself . It reinforces my belief that My Life is my Choice & I build my life bit by bit .