These are the words that I have said to myself and others probably a million times. There is not much that I hate more than running distance runs. I grew up an athlete, playing 4 sports through high school before being blessed to play 4 years of college baseball. We ran distances throughout my career, and I began coaching. We ran distances. It was stupid (in my eyes), BUT it made me tougher, made me in better shape, and made me learn how to use self-talk to make it through something miserable; it made me realize how to work at something made me…. Me.
Will, what is your point!?
Glad you asked.
Growth comes through the discomfort. If we stay in our comfort zones, we will eventually find ourselves stuck in a rut or stalemated with life. In order to exceed, we have to train our minds along with our bodies to get stronger and be able to deal with situations we don’t like or enjoy. Nowadays, it seems like people often crumble and go into the fetal position when the going gets tough. As you look around, there are some things that are around you that you avoid due to discomfort even though there would be positive things come from them. These could be having a hard conversation with a friend, asking for a raise at work, delegating tasks, putting yourself into a competition which you may fail at, writing a blog about your thoughts, handing out discipline to your children, or even something as “simple” as initiating a conversation with that cute girl/guy in the coffee shop. All of these things, along with so many others, get built up by continuing to push ourselves out of our comfort zone.
Pursue growth. Pursue discomfort. And finally, I will close with… Running long distances is s̶t̶u̶p̶i̶d̶. Essential for me.
I’ll see y’all out there!
