How Running is the Perfect Medium for Untapped Human Potential
Running: it can be imagined that a negative thought crosses the mind when this word is uttered. And why wouldn’t it? In modern times, we are conditioned to associate it with negative things: being punished by running laps in sports, running from bad or even deathly situations, or running to lose weight in hopes of fitting into that dress or shirt for an upcoming wedding. These all associate the success of running with a desired outcome. It is a means to an end. In other words; we tend to only run if we have to.
I have personally held this viewpoint for most of my life, often looking at people who genuinely enjoy this activity as some kind of masochists who are suckers for pain. Simply put, I didn’t see how this could be sustainable, but as with any successful long-term relationship, one must establish a deeper meaning than just surface-level desires.
It wasn’t until a bought of depression and a global pandemic had me trying anything to better my physical and mental health.
Putting it into perspective
According to findings from Livestrong, around 50 millions Americans regularly run (participate in some kind of jogging/running, be it leisurely or competitively.) That’s 15% of the total population. 15%! That number checks out, right? Think about the people in your life; that means that approximately only 1 out of every 7 people that you know regularly runs.
The purpose of this statistic is not to shame anybody, but more so to paint a picture of just how many people I believe could benefit from this simple activity of putting one foot in front of the other for X amount of minutes. Especially in these current times where mental health issues have skyrocketed, our collective physical health is the lowest it’s ever been, and we are quickly becoming a culture that seeks instant gratification.
“Ya ya, we’ve all heard it before that running can improve X, Y, and Z, so what?”.
We know the statistics, and in my opinion the best way to advocate something is to share stories and experiences. Going forward, I’ll just be detailing my connections/thoughts with running. So take it with a grain of sand, or take the whole beach. I don’t care, you do you.
Running and living in the moment
As someone who has run several half marathons and is training for a full, I admit that this activity can be daunting at times. If one focuses solely on the end goal (be it thinking about finishing that last mile, running for a certain time goal, or running to hit your calorie goal), then we live in the future during our run. By doing so, we tend to not appreciate what is around us in the present. For myself, by focusing on each step, by noticing the scenery around me, by listening to my thoughts at that time, I find that the run is the time in my day that I am most present. For those who practice might know, this is the sole purpose of mediation: being present and noticing everything around you.
By living in the moment, be it mile 1 or mile 10, we tend to focus less on the physical and more on the mental. This has guided me towards living life this way, which allows me to appreciate each day, and to not put too much emphasis on the past or the future. If I lived life to the fullest today, that is all that matters when my head hits the pillow. In my opinion, this is the true definition of happiness.
Running and shattering our own limits
I challenge anybody to stand at the finish line of any race and not feel any kind of deep emotion. For me, the finish line is a concrete physical marker that verifies that we have finished a physical feat, but behind this physical victory, there are many mental victories that have been won. This is the aspect of running that I’m interested in. The aspect where people find out that the limits that they set for themselves can be overcome.
In the process of training for a long distance race with a predetermined schedule of distances to run, I have always thought: “how can I possibly run X amount of miles on Saturday?”. Whenever I see that number on my schedule, my brain quickly finds reasons to alert me that this is beyond my limit: “you’ve never run that distance before, will your shoes be able to handle it, what if X, what if Y”, and so on. Recently I’ve learned to love this self doubt, because it makes it that much sweeter when I accomplish that which I thought I couldn’t.
In my opinion, the allure of running isn’t so much the physical feats, but the mental victories that give you that satisfied feeling after a run. You feel proud of yourself for getting off the couch, for continuing to trudge on through your tiredness, for taking some time to connect with nature if even for a minute, and for whatever small moment you consider a victory.
Running and mental health
Running is a great medium to sharpen our mental health because it provides just enough discomfort to make us dig deep into our character. Generally, if you are one to flee at the first signs of difficulty, you may not even make it past the first half mile of a run. Hell, you might not even make it up off the couch! When it comes to stepping outside of our comfort zone, our minds always try to convince us that it’s ok to take the easy way out. It’s perfectly OK to have this type of chatter in your brain, but it’s the ones who can power through this are the ones that become fulfilled in life. Running provides just enough mental challenge to give us opportunities to overcome what we think is impossible.
By overcoming obstacles, we start to see the trend that if we can succeed at this hard thing, we can also overcome the next hard thing. I find that this leads beautifully into giving us confidence in our own resilience. With confidence in ourselves, we feel less anxiety to try new things, and trying new thing leads to a fulfilling life.
For me personally, running started as a means to an end: lose some belly fat. But it gradually morphed into a practice in mental toughness which positively affected all aspects of my life. Each day, I look forward to my run. I appreciate the body that I have, the environment that I get to do it in, but most importantly my mind, along with its many emotions.
I’ve tried not to detail any physical aspects of my running, as there are countless resources out there for that kind of thing. Instead, I wanted to look at running from a mental standpoint, and how I think that the benefits go beyond just those of the physical nature.
I firmly believe that running is the perfect experience for anybody that is capable of doing it. It directly benefits your health, but it also will fine-tune your inner character. Think about the last time that you finished a run, how did you feel? Were you thinking about how bad your legs hurt? Or were you thinking about the great mental feat that you just achieved? For me, it’s always the latter.
Pursue what’s in your heart, and the universe will conspire to support you
— Rich Roll
