Get Your Mind Right - Determination
Runners like to talk about hitting the wall - a metaphorical (or sometimes biological) limit where you can’t keep going. But hitting the wall is real. Bonking. That moment where you’re just like, it’s over; I’m not going on any longer.
Many of us have hit that moment not in our sneakers are on but in our everyday lives. Work is crazy. A relationship is challenging. Whatever it is, and boom. Your patience snaps.
I hit that wall all the time. If I see a line of 5 people, and someone looks like they’re figuring out what to order from Starbucks for the first time, “What flavor of coffee do you have?” I’m out the door. Nothing’s worth this.
And when I run, I hit dozens of those walls.
My friends are all meeting up for brunch on Sunday, but that’s when I run. What if I skipped it?
I could stay out later tonight and skip my run tomorrow.
Do I want to get out of bed? It’s 5:30, and I’m so cozy right now.
I don’t want to put on my shoes; I want to watch Rings of Power.
I don’t want to get out the door; I want to play with my son.
My body’s a little tight; I could turn around right now.
It’s hot; I could call an Uber and go home.
My mind is lazy. And it’s supposed to be, right? We all evolved from these animals, and we had to hunt for food, and eating was something we did like once a day. We’re supposed to conserve our energy.
Running is pushing through barriers. It’s the determination to say I can move past this objection. It’s building up the strength for your mind to say, “This obstacle isn’t going to stop me.”
We need something in our lives to push against. And we need to be able to win. I hope you get the joy of some obstacles to battle. And I hope that those battles get you stronger and get you wins.
What I get from running is confidence in my ability to keep going. So when my mind is flashing, "Stop, stop, stop,” I know that I can go, go, go.
Running is like the reverse “Bump N’ Grind.”
“My body is telling me no, but my mind, my mind is telling me yeah!”
After a while, you start hearing nos, and you think, “Uno Reverso, no to your no, I got this.”
Things that build up that mental toughness are so valuable. Because your mind will be saying no, no, no for a long time.
Part of a four-part series on running as life.