Do Something You Hate Every Single Day
Conquer Your Insecurities
If there is something I truly hate doing, it's running. I hate jogging or running however you want to call it. I hate it with a passion. Yet I run about 3 miles every 2 days or so. But believe me when I tell you it is my least favorite thing to do in the world. All day all I can think about is how much I don't want to run later. I get anxiety when I'm walking towards my running spot. I genuinely get the sense of fear in my chest like a little kid that is scared is the closest thing I can compare it to. Once I'm running I have to forget everything and focus on my breathing. Once we want to quit, get to deep waters as I call it, that is when the real challenge begins. I compare running to going to war with yourself. It's a long battle of going back and forth with yourself . You want to quit when you get to those deep waters and you need to have the mental fortitude to stay present and focus on your breathing. That is one of the things running helped me master, staying in the present. You can have a million things you want to think about when you are running but you have to stay present and focus on not dying. Once the mental battle is over and the run is over, you have the greatest feeling of accomplishment and as corny as it sounds I've always thought the feeling after running is the hardest drug to come by. It cost hard work that can't be bought. And the greatest release of dopamine ever comes after your runs. The scary part about running so much is that your body gets used to it and is actually ready to run more and more each day so your mile run will soon be a 3 mile run and that will soon be a 5 mile run, assuming you are taking the proper steps to recover between runs of course.
Growing up I was a regular at the gym, I enjoy lifting weights , but I always stayed away from the cardio machines. I considered myself fit but in the back of my mind I knew my weakness was cardio. I completely hate the feeling of running out of breathe and that pain in your stomach when you begin to start cramping up. It sucks am I right? Well on this journey of "fixing myself" if you will, I knew that in order to have a balanced life I needed to incorporate cardio into my workout routine. The closest in the past 10 years I got to doing cardio was picking up boxing and training in it for about 6 months. That's when I knew it was a weakness of mind. I could barely get through those sessions.
I would go out to the marina and try and run one mile every single day for about a month straight and I never completed the mile within that first month without having to stop and walk. I genuinely thought there was something wrong with me and was ready to see a doctor about it. But every day I would be able to run more and more and ultimately my body got conditioned to run. But that first month of failing every day was extremely vital in building that mental fortitude. Without the failure, the accomplishment would of never felt as good. The first time I ran a mile It felt just as good as it does when I've finished a 3 or 5 mile run. Once I conquered my weakness and biggest fear I learned that doing that recalibrated me mentally and emotionally. I am reminded of who I am and what I am made of . Now instead of doing something toxic when things happen in life I tell myself "the world doesn't owe you anything, you owe yourself 3 miles" and the feeling after that is amazing. All this does is teach your mind to do things it doesn't want to do and it all builds momentum, you become a more productive person. Conquer that fear or insecurity of yours and I promise your quality of life will get better.
About the Creator
Luis Lopez
Film and journalism student sharing his experiences
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