Being Prepared for Life

In life you are given challenges.  Challenges you need to face and overcome.    Sometimes it is hard to understand why these challenges are occurring, and people often ask themselves how they going to get through them.  For me, running helps me face these everyday challenges.  Running teaches me not to give up when it seems like life is getting too hard.  It teaches me that the more effort I put into whatever I want to accomplish the more I will get out of it.  It teaches me that sooner or later the struggles I am going through will be over.  When I workout, I have my good days, where I feel like I can run forever, and my bad days, where I just need the run to be over with.  Some days are harder to get the pace I want, or even to motivate myself.  Without those hard days I would not appreciate the easier days as much. 

Working out also helps with inner confidence.  It helps me feel better about myself.  Not only does it provide me with more energy, but it also gives myself better self-esteem.  It teaches me that I can do anything.  Whenever I am going through something hard in my life, I reflect back on the long run I had the weekend before and how hard that was for me.  How during that run I was able to push myself to finish it, even when I felt I wasn’t going to.  

Running helps me with self-discipline.  It has taught me to understand how the more I put to something, the more I will get out of it.  Nothing can be given to you.  

Working out is another way for me to meditate.  It’s my time to reflect and have time for clear thinking.  I have always said that after a long run, I have my whole life figured out.  Whatever I had on my mind that day gets worked out during my runs.  I am stressed going into the run, and by the time my run is over I have the problem figured out in my head on how I will fix it.  Working out is a time for myself.  Whether I am  with a friend or by myself.  It is a time to be in my own thoughts, and it helps my life physically and mentally. I do better in work, relationships, and rest of my life when I am consistently exercising.