For the last couple weeks we’ve talked about getting your head in the game when it comes to running. It’s so important to connect, not just physically, but mentally! But some of you, despite my encouragement, still can’t get past the hate. Okay, maybe “hate” is a strong word. But you’re just not quite feeling the love. You run, you train, you stick with the program, but it’s always hard because, if you’re honest with yourself, you’d rather be doing just about anything else. The good news is that you’re still choosing the healthy alternative… you’re choosing to run anyway because you know the benefits of exercise! The bad news is that, over time, we tend to stop doing the things we dislike. This is why so many people jump on and off the exercise and healthy living bandwagon! That’s why we go to the gym all of January and February and promise ourselves we’re going to stick with it, but by March we’re sitting on the couch again. Here’s the thing. We love being comfortable. I love being comfortable! I love air conditioning and ibuprofen and memory foam pillows and good jeans and nice hotels and my couch! I like when people are nice to me and I’m given opportunities and things come easy and the stars align. I don’t like itchy tags or tight bras or cold showers or too much dirt or trying to sleep on airplanes. I don’t like conflict or competition or self-improvement or having to work too hard to overcome obstacles. Those things are UNCOMFORTABLE! If I take an honest look at my life, I spend enormous amounts of time and energy every year on keeping myself comfortable, and I know I’m not the only one. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with a little comfort. My problem is that I start to worship it… just a little… if I’m being totally honest. I read an article a couple years ago (can’t remember where) that talked about happiness – how we idolize it and seek after it and feel like there’s something wrong with us if we can’t attain the ideal life or situation that will give us that happiness we want so badly. Then it talked about how happiness is, in many ways, over-rated when we consider its long-term effect on our lives and the people around us. Throughout history, the people really making a difference – the ones changing the course of history for themselves and everyone else – are the people who have been dealt what most of us would consider a hand of un-happiness. They’ve been dealt some discomfort. About 11 years ago, my Dad passed away very suddenly. He was healthy and active and only 53 years old. I was 23 at the time, but my youngest sister was 12 and it devastated our family. He and my mom and sisters had actually come in from out of town to visit me on the weekend he died. He had gone hiking with some buddies for the day and had a massive heart attack on the trail and was gone before any of the guys could get back to him to see why he hadn’t caught up yet. When I think of uncomfortable times in my life, this one’s at the top of the list. It’s things like this that have the potential to devastate us. Things like losing loved ones, being abused, neglected, abandoned, put down, mistreated, addicted, angry… etc. So, what the heck does this have to do with running? Running, for me, has always been the proof that I have what it takes to get through the painful and the uncomfortable. No, running can’t take away the pain and it can’t make everything all better, but it can make me better. I can make me OK with being uncomfortable. Not because it’s good to be uncomfortable, but because it takes massive amounts of discomfort to reach any goal worth having. A very wise man (my husband) always tells me, “Don’t wish it were easier. Wish you were better.” But I always find myself doing the opposite. I want to wish away the struggle and just embrace the end result. But I need to embrace the struggle too. The struggle is what will make me better. I may still hate camping and polyester sheets and panty-hose, but when it comes to running, I’ve learned the art of being uncomfortable. And I re-learn it over and over again every time I push myself to go farther or faster or longer than I’ve gone before. So, the next time your love/hate relationship with running start tipping toward the hate side again, do a mental check and ask yourself, “Do I want to be comfortable, or do I want to be better?” If you want to be comfortable, you need to go hang up your running shoes for good! If you want to be better, you need to embrace the struggle. Don’t wish it were easier. Wish you were better.
