12 Essential and Surprising Life Lessons From Running
Did you know that there are amazing Life Lessons from Running that we can apply in other areas of our lives?
Running is one of the things I enjoy doing. It clears my mind gives me energy and helps me plan for the day, week, or month ahead. The fresh air has much impact on your physical, mental, and emotional health. It makes me a better person in all areas of life.
Like all good things though, running is hard work that needs dedication and training. The rewards such as lower blood pressure, a healthy weight, and the thrill and satisfaction of achieving your personal best run are worth it at the end of the day though.
When you pay closer attention you’ll realize that the 12 Essential and Surprising Life Lessons From Running can help you live your best life.
Running is a gift and when you start running and keep at it, you gain valuable wisdom that can be applied to everyday life.
12 Essential and Surprising Life Lessons from Running
When we open ourselves to learning we’ll realize that even our hobbies or passions can teach us wonderful lessons that we can apply to areas of our lives. Running has done this for me. It keeps me healthy mentally and physically and gives me strength.
But along the way I’ve learned that there are valuable lessons that it has taught me that I’m happy to share with you as well. Let’s dive in!
Running teaches you discipline
One of the most important things running will teach you is discipline. I remember when one of my biggest dreams came true (in running at least). It was qualifying for and running the Boston Marathon in 2016.
For those of you who may not know the significance, it is a legendary race that you have to qualify (times based on gender and age) to receive a bid to run. It’s a way to separate yourself from the running world.
I feel like it’s a way to become an “elite” among the ordinary because that’s what I am — an ordinary runner who loves pushing myself into bold and extraordinary goals.
But to get there, I had to follow a strict training schedule, and I couldn’t just take rest days. Even when I didn’t feel like it, I had to discipline myself to follow the plan and get out there.
Getting up early to get my training runs in before the busyness of the day began was a must. Family time is important to me, and I didn’t want my runs to interfere with it, so I chose to set my alarm and get up early.
Running teaches you daily discipline in eating too. Your physical health matters so it’s important to enjoy nutritious food that gives you energy and builds up strength. Indulging in junk food will decrease your performance and is to be avoided at all costs.
To achieve a big goal in life, you need discipline. It helps you develop consistency, and momentum, overcome instant gratification, and achieve higher levels of success.
structure is necessary for success
When I was training for the Boston Marathon, I realized I needed a routine and structure. I also had to schedule my workouts (I still do).
So every Sunday evening I would plan out my week. I’d figure out where to best fit my training runs, when I could get to the track, when it was best to fit my long run in, and so on. I scheduled my runs into my planner like an appointment.
It solidified them a little more in my mind and helped me to see them as important because my goals are important! The structure and routine kept me balanced and l was able to succeed.
The more disciplined I was in my training, the more productive I was during the day. I had more energy to get things done, and since I was up early, I felt like I had more time in my day.
Following a structured training plan helped me curve excuses that came, the biggest being that I just didn’t feel like doing it. But you know what? To be successful in everyday life, we have to put in the work even when we don’t feel like it. That’s when it matters the most for the discipline to kick in.
When you have structured days, you make time for what’s important and enjoy life more. It also helps you overcome procrastination, feel less stressed, promote good emotional health, and build positive habits.
Don’t Give Up Even When Things Get Tough
Your first week running, your first race, or your first half marathon will be the toughest but don’t give up. Even the best runner you know has felt like giving up a lot of times but just kept going even when things got tough.
They found that true strength is not physical but refusing to give up. The reward will come at the end of the race when you know you pushed through and achieved your goal.
Life is about moving forward even when you experience a lack of motivation. You have to dig deep, keep your goal top of your mind, remember your “why”, have resilience, and keep going in a forward motion.
Win the mind battle first
Waking up to run on a Saturday morning when you just feel like sleeping is no easy feat. It might be very cold or very hot or you’re just tired. The indecision can paralyze you and be a huge obstacle to going after your goal.
Sometimes it’s fear or doubt of whether you can try new things like long-distance races or your first marathon.
Good runners know that the battle is always in the mind and you have to win that first. The mind affects the body’s ability to perform.
Taking the first step is always the hardest but once you push through that you can keep going. Your mind is the best tool to help you move forward and keep going.
Even in life, your mind can be your biggest obstacle or your biggest tool. Make a decision, set a goal, and take the small steps you need to crush your goal. Running teaches you to just get up and go. Just start. Even if you don’t have it all figured out, you’ll learn along the way.
Don’t Compare Yourself to Anyone
Running is an individual sport. Yes, you can run with a group or your friends but set your own pace and don’t compete with anyone. When you compare yourself with others you end up demotivated.
You are the only person you’re competing with. There are times you are competing with the voices in your head telling you that you can’t reach the finish line, or you’re competing against your previous performance.
Even in life, you just need to set high standards for yourself, work to be the best version of yourself, and not compare yourself with others.
Setbacks and Disruptions will happen
One of the surprising yet essential Life lessons from Running is that there are times when you practice according to your schedule and do all the right things but things don’t go according to plan.
It might rain on race day which leaves you a little bit demotivated. Race dates can be changed due to various circumstances. You can get injured during your marathon training and fail to complete the rest of the run.
Just like bad runs, bad days don’t define us. We may have a hard time accepting them but disruptions are part of life and we live in uncertain times. Change is inevitable and there are no perfect days or perfect runs.
The good news is disruptions and setbacks are usually temporary and like young kids, let’s be quick to keep going, and not allow a fall to defeat and discourage us.
Running taught me to stretch for a goal
“Go out and chase your dreams no matter how crazy they seem.”
–American actress and singer Shanice Williams
I like to have a big goal. It helps me to not only stay disciplined but to also have something to look forward to. When we have a goal, it can spark a passion inside that can illuminate the outside.
I don’t run many races throughout the year, but I like to have two to three so I’m essentially having a goal from race to race.
Sometimes these races lead up to an ultimate goal for the year and are stepping stones to my larger goal or dream which might be the next year or in a few years. Stretching for a goal makes me feel like one bad motherrunner! It boosts my confidence and makes me feel worthy of great things.
When I chose the dream of qualifying for the Boston Marathon, I didn’t really have a real reason why. It just seemed like the cool thing to do at the time. But as I began pushing for it and training for it, it became more of a passion. The ultimate “why” came after failing in 2012 to hit a qualifying time.
I watched the 2013 Boston Marathon from afar, and it was a race that changed history. The infamous Boston Bombing took place that year just after what my goal finish time would have been. That alone created more of a burn for me to be there.
- I wanted to represent our country at the historic race.
- It became more of a duty for me to run that race as a way of saying we aren’t scared, and we won’t back down.
- Inspiring others to not quit on themselves drove my motive, and my focus became less about me.
Running goals leak over to other areas of my life. It creates a desire for me to have business goals, financial goals, marriage goals, parenting goals, and so on.
Hitting a goal makes me want to hit another and then another and creates a positive domino effect! If you use your passion or hobby to begin hitting goals, you will in turn see it leak over to other areas of your life.
Running can teach you to leave your comfort zone
To get somewhere we’ve never been, we have to do something we’ve never done. That makes sense, right? That’s leaving our comfort zone.
Our comfort zone is staying right where we are because, essentially, it’s not hard. We’re used to being right where we are. It doesn’t cause tension or stress in our lives, or if it does, we’ve gotten so used to it that it’s become normal, and we can live with it.
Big dreams in running caused me to have to leave my comfort zone to obtain those said dreams. To qualify for the Boston Marathon, I had to change up the workouts I’ve always done.
I’ve always been a steady 8-8: 30-minute miler, whether it be a 5k or a half marathon (fulls were quite a bit slower). To get my full down to an 8-minute mile, which is what I needed to qualify, I knew I had to do something different. I had to look at speed training differently. I needed to leave my comfortable pace if I wanted to get faster.
The good in life comes when we leave the comfort of what we are doing and embrace the uncomfortable. Work to stretch yourself every day, and your dreams will follow. It takes hard work to achieve our goals even in life but it’s worth it in the end.
A Life Lesson from Running is finding Joy in the Journey
Even after months of training the end goal in running is usually not winning. It’s accomplishing something great, working hard, and achieving a personal best. You come out a different person who’s more motivated and inspired after completing a run or reaching the finish line of a race.
In life, you need to enjoy the journey to achieving your goals and dreams otherwise you miss great lessons, phenomenal people, and amazing things along the way.
Related: How To Enjoy The Journey To Your Goals and Dreams
A life lesson from running is that Patience pays off
You won’t become a full marathon runner after a single run. An impatient runner is an injured runner. You end up burning out when you start at full speed.
Pace yourself, delay gratification, take rest days, stick to your plan, and be disciplined. Take time to build strength and at the end of the day it will pay off.
A surprising lesson running teaches you is that patience pays off. There is no easy way to get results in life and most of us learn this the hard way. Don’t try to take shortcuts. When you are patient, you’ll enjoy the wonderful things and rewards you get at the end.
You learn to Dream big but start small
To most people, running can seem like a daunting challenge. Marathon runners will tell you that your goal becomes more attainable if you break training up into smaller goals and small steps to the end goal.
This is a valuable lesson in life. Having smaller goals helps you build consistency and develop habits that will lead to success in achieving your big dreams.
Celebrate big and small successes
It’s important to celebrate the small and big successes in running. Getting out of bed when you’d rather sleep in is an achievement, putting on your running gear, stepping out of the door to run, and taking every extra mile and completing a race should be celebrated.
Getting back to running after an injury is worth celebrating. Celebrate everything in your life and you’ll be motivated to achieve more.
Running is a gift that keeps on giving. The more you run, the more rewarding it is. These valuable lessons in running can be applied to other areas of our lives.
The discipline, focus, dedication, structure, hard work, strength, patience, and resilience you learn as a runner will help you achieve your goals and dreams. Stretch yourself, grow in strength, and choose to win the battle of the mind.
May you apply these 12 Essential and Surprising Life Lessons From Running to live your best life and achieve greater success.
Dream huge, and, remember, you are a winner. Just run YOUR race!
RELATED: 3 Books That Helped Me Dream Again
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