I hate running.
I know there are a lot of people who love it, who find peace and even exultation in running. That sounds great! My experience is more like: “This is terrible, my legs are heavy, I’m so slow, nobody is as slow as I am, this is dumb, when will this be over”—at every step.
But recently I challenged myself to get back into running, and to log a certain number of miles before my birthday. This meant I had to run nearly every day for at least 45 minutes or so in order to hit the target. And do you know what really does not make that any easier? Telling yourself how terrible it is, how slow you are, how much faster everyone else is, and how you just should be better at running.
Instead, I had to find a way to cheer for myself.
I channeled my daughter, telling me how proud she is of me for running. I thought about my son, (who also hates running) and the high-five he would give me when I made it. I thought about my dad, who is a triathlete and always encourages me in my exercise goals, whether they are running, yoga, or weightlifting.
Thinking about these loved ones helped me cheer myself on—their voices overtook the one that was giving me such a hard time (my own).
Sometimes we have a tough time being our own cheerleaders. When that happens, try borrowing encouragement from the people who are are always in your corner!
