Running and Thinking

For me, running is a perfect time to do some thinking. Sometimes I can plan out in advance what I want to work on. I’ve come up with lots of ideas for Talkbot that way. Sometimes no matter what I “want” to think about it seems my brain has it’s own plan. That’s been the case on the last few runs where it seems my brain has wanted to do some thinking about running while running. Maybe it’s trying to tell me something as I think this stuff applies to more than just running.

• If I don’t set a goal it’s very likely that I will do what’s easy.
• If I set a goal and give myself permission to quit early I will almost certainly quit early.
• I reach my goals to the extent that I can keep my word to myself. This is mostly a mental game that I must play with myself.
• On the way to reaching a goal, I will feel bad, want to quit, have problems, get bored and put up just about any roadblock that my mind can invent.
• It’s only when I reach a goal that I have the ability and opportunity to surprise myself by doing more than I thought I could.
• The more I run the more I am able to run.
• Rest days are necessary.
• Some days I can’t wait to run. Some days running is the last thing I want to do. The trick is to learn how to get myself out of the door.