Thursday, July 26, 2012

90 Degrees And Still Going

It's hot here in Provo. I decided to go for a run tonight, and once I decide that means I'm going to do it. I'm really stubborn to the point that I follow through with just about everything I decide on, even if it's gonna be miserable.

Well, funny story..... right after I decided to go on a run, I walked outside and found out it was incredibly hot still!  My first thought was, "Man, Provo really sucks." I mean, you'd think it would be a bit cooler out by 8 at night, but apparently not. I looked at a sign a few minutes into my run and saw it was still 90 degrees..... So, just in case you were wondering, you're not gonna go for a nice cool run here during the Summer. haha

I do have somewhere I'm going with this. Yeah, running can be miserable sometimes. But, what makes it less miserable, what really makes it so you can keep your pace and go on, is your attitude about it. If you're wondering the secret to running, it has very little to do with being athletic or having a runner's body. That has a little to do with it, but it's mostly just what you think about while you're going. You HAVE to keep positive. The minute you start getting frustrated or think about how much you hate it, that's when you start to notice that it's hot out, that you're tired, your feet hurt, you're getting cramps. The only way to be a good runner is to be an optimist. Instead of noticing what hurts or what's not going well, you think about keeping up a good pace, the pretty view at the top of the hill you're climbing, how happy you're gonna be to finish the run, or what's waiting for you when you're done.

Why do I bring this up? It's might sound dumb, but it's something simple so many people don't realize. It doesn't just apply to running. I blogged last time about finding something meaningful in life. But, when I think about it, none of this is going to matter unless you have the right attitude. If you don't think you're going to be happy, then you're not! It's just not going to happen. The only way to enjoy your life, to feel good about yourself, is to decide that you're going to. You can always find something to be miserable about, but ALL that it is going to do is MAKE you miserable and slow you down.

Just like when you're running, a bad attitude will do absolutely nothing else for you besides making you sad. You start to notice that maybe you don't have as many friends as you want, that you don't look as good as you like, that you're stressed out, or even that you're just not the person you want to be. Even if any of it's true, thinking about it gets you nowhere. Thinking about how you're going to make things better and the view "at the top of the hill" you're climbing is going to make you feel better, and you'll be happier about where you are.

I can promise you that having a good attitude about where you are and keeping away from negatives thoughts WILL make you happy, whether you're running a marathon or trying to get through a day working at McDonald's. I can also promise you that, as long as you think the view from the top of the hill is going to be amazing, it really will be.

This is a huge part of my philosophy on life, and I hope maybe something I've written can help at least one person. 

1 comment:

  1. LOVE it! definitely motivating... and btw, my big problem with running is that i have traditionally been very negative about it. thanks for this post!

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