Have you faced this challenge in your running? Days of not running. And later regretting not having run and wasted those precious days.
To do a task like running, where we don’t have our bread and butter at stake, we do such tasks only when we are inspired and driven. Someone somewhere has inspired you to run and that becomes a source of power for you to run. Those days, you are able to push yourself hard. You achieve as well. And you feel happy having done something incredible.
But, then comes those days of inactivity when you are lost in life. You lose yourself in the business of living. You feel that you have better things to do. Your daughter has to be dropped to school. You better utilize your running time to finish a report. You better watch TV or chat with your girlfriend. Moreover, you have no zeal or inspiration to run. Running seems to be a boring thing to do when the mind is pre-occupied with more serious issues in life. In those days, you just give up.
Has this happened to you? I am sure It must have happened to you. I have faced this challenge in my life. And not just with running every day but also with other passionate work. Even this blog is a passionate work to do. I must write every day to reach out to you. But, what if I don’t write. The blog is not my bread and butter.
When you are haunted by such questions, I suggest a way to think. Don’t ask yourself this question: Why Run? You just remember what Nike says, “Just Do it” We can not wrest ourselves solely on the motivation and drive to make us run every day. To cultivate running as an everyday affair, I have tried this “Just Do It” formula.
We are psychologically wired to be in the habit of doing things in the way we have been doing for years. So, if you have just taken up running and being regular to your task is getting tough, it’s not because you are not interested in running anymore. But, you are fighting against your old habits. Those habits that kept you sedentary all this while.
Another thing that I can tell you to do is: Keep a number to chase every day. I have a daily number, weekly number, and monthly number. On top of this, I have an annual target. I attained an incredible running target. Just like my business targets, I keep my running targets. Guess what, when you have a clear picture of what you want to attain and how you will take each step to reach there, your mind finds it friction-free to run towards that.
But, don’t press for those numbers. Some fall in that trap of running for numbers: Distance, Pace, etc. The biggest reward of running is being able to come out of your house and head for a run. During the course of run, enjoy the breeze, enjoy the morning rising sun, enjoy the quietness of the city, etc. These are the rewards given to those who make efforts to come out and run. So, the number is like a rope you cling yourself to. That’s it.
Run is fun. Remember this. It is a reward in itself. Every day you run, you get rewarded instantly. Health and happiness are spillovers. They are byproducts. I run to enjoy the process. I would suggest you master the process. Before you find yourself running daily, master breathing, running forms, thinking patterns. All of this will help you a lot.
Don’t leave running to motivation. Motivation is temporary. It fizzles out in some time. You can keep motivating yourself from time to time. But, don’t wait for the motivation to come and make you run. Make a choice with your life. Run for the sake of running. It is an act better than sitting at home. or in the office. The magic lies in the move-ment. Master the process of running and put running in an automated mode.
This is what I have been able to achieve by running every day. Self-Respect.
Dear readers, what do you think about those days when you don’t have drive to run. What do you do? How do you push? Do you give up or try some tricks ? What tricks or plans you have? Please do share for the benefit of all of us.
Leave a Reply