Enjoying the Process
that’s runnable
The 11th Edition of your favourite running newsletter
Welcome back to your weekly dose of run chat.
A quick read of insightful tips and thoughts to help you with your running.
It is truly rare to find someone who’s always able to master this week’s topic. It’s become such an important part of my overall message, and I don’t think I’ll stop reminding myself and others of it until the day I die.
This week, we’re going to think about enjoying the process.
Something to Think About
The process of chasing a goal isn’t easy. If it’s a stretch goal, one that requires a change in lifestyle, some sacrifice, hard work, and doing things you don’t always want to do, it can be difficult to always enjoy it.
Think about what you do enjoy about the process, whether it’s the endorphins after a workout, the mental clarity after a run, the feeling of empowerment, the positive influence you’re having on others, there’s always satisfaction and enjoyment to be found if you look hard enough.
Something to Ask Yourself
How can you reframe the work you’re doing to see it more positively? Much of the time, we’re not enjoying it because it’s hard. But don’t mistake hard for unenjoyable. The magic happens when you can figure out how to enjoy the hard things you do. Are you just telling yourself it’s unenjoyable because it’s hard?
Article of the Week 📄
This week’s article on Medium describes how the author used a dopamine detox to rewire their brain to enjoy doing difficult tasks. By reducing reliance on instant gratification and stimulating activities, the author retrained their brain to find satisfaction in more challenging and productive tasks. The piece covers the concept of dopamine detox, its benefits, and practical steps to implement it.
Track of the Week 🎶
Here’s a nice song for you to put on whilst you spend time running alone. This week’s Track of the Week is:
When U Loved Me (Acoustic) by Hether (2021)
Personal Lesson
When I became an adult, and I stopped participating in organised sport, I new exercise was important, but I never had a positive relationship with it. I saw everything as work. A form of punishment. Something I had to do.
But over time, it became clear that this wasn’t a sustainable approach because I ultimately hated all my training.
It took time, but when I realised I had to figure out how to enjoy the process, I started to think about everything I like about the lifestyle that comes with being a runner and someone who chases big goals. I started to focus on what I gained from it all, why I’m grateful to have my health, and the things I can do by being physically fit (like scaling mountains). As soon as I started to reframe my perspective on the process, my whole relationship with running changed for the better.
Running - Life’s Metaphor
No matter what you’re pursuing, you have to figure out how to enjoy the pursuit. The only thing we can be certain of is this very moment. The end result of all the hard work you put in is satisfying to some extent, but it will never be worth it if the quality of your life, in pursuit of the goal, is negatively impacted.
Final Thoughts
Enjoying the process is not something that will happen overnight. It’s something that you will constantly have to remind yourself. Each day will require a conscious effort to find joy in the hard thing.
There are challenges you will face along the way. Unexpected challenges, extremely difficult challenges, challenges that make you question whether it’s worth it at all. Whatever the challenge, know that there’s a lot to be gained by going through it and overcoming it. You won’t always be smiling throughout, and you’ll certainly not always find it easy to see the positives in your training. But it is a muscle that you can train over time and something that is worth practicing.
I’ll finish with something more practical. Sometimes a negative outlook can be due to bad sleep and/or nutrition. Have a think about whether you’re getting enough rest. Have a think about what your diet looks like. I know all too well how my mood can be affected if I’ve not eaten properly, drank too much alcohol, or am just not getting enough sleep. Sometimes the solution is more simple than you might think.
Thanks again for reading and subscribing.
Run the runnable, and keep showing up for yourself!
Tommy :)
