Weekend Motivation 82

Over the last month or two I realized something and it’s a big one for me. I figured out something new about me and running. Not a fun fact or a new product something deeper than that. You could say I’m a slow learner since it took me 23-ish years to figure it out. While no one out there is likely to have this exact same experience the between the lines stuff might help someone or at least get you thinking.

For a long time my relationship with running was kind of on and off. I went for a few runs every year but some years that was about it. In there though there were lots of 6 moths to 2 year periods where I was very much on. But I never really had a deep love for it like I have for the last 3 years. In those 3+ years I’ve really come to love it. Why is that? Before it was something I should do, was efficient and I really did WANT to be a runner. Now I love it, look forward to it and even CRAVE it. So what changed?

It’s only recently that I’ve figured this all out. In the past I turned to running in a big way at harder points in my life. Things like terror about what was next, breakups and other fearful things. This last time I got into it wasn’t totally unlike that either but I went into it with long term thinking and as part of a solution intentionally. This time I was thinking about running as a long term change but that had been at least partially true before. In the past I was back into running because I was running at least in part to run away from something not so great. This time I was running toward something positive and wouldn’t you know it, it stuck! This time it was a first step in taking my health seriously like a real life forever grown up. I was also moving in with someone for the first time and I thought running might be a good way for me to have my own thing. Plus running had always done wonders for my mental health in the past at tough times and wouldn’t that be just great as a regular form of self care going forward?

Which (sort of) brings me to this week’s point and that is the fact that doing things for the right reason makes a real difference! Not that the reason’s before were bad it’s just these ones were so much better and so much more intentional. So this weekend while you’re out there think about the reasons you do what it is that you love even in that’s not running!