What Running has taught me about life?

When I first started running – Like seriously running (Not that treadmill pre-workout runs), I could barely do 2 miles without stopping; it felt like a never-ending loop of “When is this going to end.”

3 months down, 2 miles became normal run

5 month down, 3 miles came naturally 

8 month down, 6 miles is the new normal 

10 month down, 10 miles is only 4 miles more than 6 miles

What changed?

1.       What we focus on expands, results follow Focus –Markus Buckingham

I started to focus on things that took my sight off my legs/ pain / how many loops are left or how many miles are left in the run. Instead, I started focusing on the bigger picture.

• Focus on completing a couple of Podcast while running.
• Focus on my surrounding -Running on scenic routes ( Nature Inspires us in a way you never thought possible ).
• A playlist of music that lifts me up ( Ain’t No Mountain High Enough by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell does magic for my runs ). I am pretty old school when it comes to music. 
• Focus on my Pacing – To set a target that is better than the previous run.

Similarly, there will always be a dreaded task in life that needs to be taken care of, long hours, early mornings, or even endless meetings. It’s important to find those “Ain’t No mountain high enough” moments to remind ourselves what’s waiting for us on the other side.

2.      We run different phases of life at a different pace

I used to give me a lot of pressure to do a 5 mile run at the same pace I would do a 3 mile. To run the same pace on a sunny day vs. a rainy day, running uphill at the same pace, I would run on a flat surface or, even worse, trying to constantly catch the person in front of me. Over the course of running, I came to learn,

• I run my best on some days, and I don’t on others. 
• Running uphill does require slowing down a little.
• Everybody is built differently. Today you may be ahead of someone, but similarly, the next day, someone might get ahead of you- it’s okay to have a bad day. 
• There are many ways to achieve your desired time/pace in the running – you can start slow and finish up fast, start fast and finish up slow, or feel like it, you can run the whole distance at the same pace. There is no fixed rule; it’s just what suits you better, but the key is always to keep the end goal in mind, which is to be better than yesterday.

In life, we often pressure ourselves to reach a particular position, status, paycheck, or even a certain level of achievement. Yet, we fail to remember that this could just be another uphill day. That requires us to slow down a notch to get to a peak where we can sprint down to the finish line or start at a slow speed building up energy that will eventually catapult us toward the end of the race. Regardless it’s always important to remember how we want to finish the race? Where our end goal is and trusts in the process to justify itself.

3.      Our body is capable of more than you ever dreamed of, it’s your mind you need to work on

Early in my running journey, I often stopped whenever I felt like doing so; I could hear myself saying, "I guess let's call it a day," "I don't think I should continue down, "and the funniest of all, "That finish line seems too far away let's create another finish life right here" to trick myself into thinking I am done. These obviously didn't get me anywhere far, which prompted me to work on my mind instead.

• Telling myself that my legs are not giving up, so what reason do I have for my mind to do so?
• Setting a starting and finishing goal... there is only one finish line ( No imaginary finish lines )
• When the mind says stops, I asked myself why I started in the first place.
• Reinstate that the goal is to finish up what I set myself to do so, and if that means adjusting my pace to accommodate bad weather, so be it as long as I don't stop until I reach my goals. You can adapt, but you can't stop until you are done.

The mind indeed is a powerful tool, and self-talk hold the Key to-unlock greatness, but at the same time, it can limit one to what we choose to tell ourselves, e.g., The imaginary finish line I create to say to myself I am done :)