Keeping it real

I know that there is a real power in doing things consistently on a daily basis such as running a mile, or ten minutes of meditation, my latest positive powerful daily habit. 

In a way they are like the spiritual practices that are taught in most major religions.

But I sometimes get caught in a rut of doing it exactly the same every day. 

For example when I run, one of the things I do each morning is go through the things I'm grateful for, which I know helps me to give my life some perspective and see how lucky I am, no matter how positive or negative I might feel at the time.

But it can get stale and I can find myself listing the same things that I'm grateful for in exactly the same way each day. It can become a tick list of the things that I must remember to be grateful for.

When I do this I can get caught up in the thought that this is just another run, the same as yesterday, the day before that and so on. And my gratitude list can become a list to get through as quickly as possible. 

It's a bit like learning something because I have to, not because it's important to me.

When this happens, it usually takes me doing it for a while the same way until one day I realise that this doesn't feel right any more.

When I question it, it becomes obvious why it doesn't feel as much fun and why it just feels like another run. The same old same old.

When this happens I still do my gratitude ritual, but I make myself find something that's specific to this morning or something that happened yesterday.

That keeps my gratitude exercise real, alive and fresh. It also does the same for my run.

That's a bit of luck

I'm reading a great book "Uncertainty - Turning Fear and Doubt into Fuel for Brilliance" by Jonathan Fields at the moment.

I read the following passage from the book this morning:

"Exercise isn't just about physical health and appearance. It also has a profound effect on your brain chemistry, physiology, and neuroplasticity (the ability of the brain to literally rewire itself). It affects not only your ability to think, create, and solve, but your mood and ability to lean into uncertainty, risk, judgment, and anxiety in a substantial, measurable way..."

Ah, that's why my daily morning mile helps me to deal with life and its daily challenges so effectively.

That's a bit of luck then!

Run long, smile & learn

I got up to my 80th consecutive daily mile this morning after my enforced 10 day lay off in March. It's going to be quite a long time to get anywhere near my March total of 1,909 days, but hey ho.

On Saturday I went a little over my daily mile as I took part in the South Downs Trail Relay marathon. I did just over 7 miles of an incredibly hilly and absolutely stunning leg of the marathon. I loved it.

These days, even in a race, it's very rare that I actually race. This year I caught up with another runner from my local running group, who I didn't know that well, and ran the rest of the leg with her, taking in the view, chatting and getting to know a bit about her life and her running. I'd highly recommend it.

I've realised that another of the many many side benefits of running, particularly longer runs, is learning something new.

When I run long on my own I often learn more about myself.

When I run long with someone else I usually learn more about them.

And then there is the best of both worlds where I learn more about myself AND someone else.

For a before and after shot of a few of us from the group, see below...

The most important thing

On my way into town yesterday to camp out at a local coffee shop and do some writing, I cycled past an old lady who was standing on a grass verge looking uncertain and very uncomfortable, and I wasn't sure which way she was trying to go.

I'd gone past her heading up the road before I really registered that everything wasn't quite right, so I turned round to investigate.

Sure enough she was in her 90's, hadn't been out for a while and was trying to catch a bus into town to do some shopping, but she told me she was feeling (and was definitely looking) very shaky.

In the end all she needed was my support to get down from the grass verge and sit down on the nearby bench to rest for a few minutes.

I did ask if there was anything else I could do but she refused, thanking me profusely.

What I wondered is how many times I would have vaguely registered that something wasn't quite normal and just continued merrily on my way, forgetting it in a matter of minutes or even seconds.

Self help and improvement books and trainings tell us to focus on our goal and on our vision and to not be distracted. Yes they also often tell us to try and be in the present moment, but in most cases that's to check in right now with what we're feeling and experiencing. I suppose the clue's in the name Self Help. It's all focused on ourselves.

I'm not lecturing here but reflecting on myself and just wondering if others might spot it in themselves too.

I know that many times I would have cycled past that old lady, pretty much oblivious, but yesterday I stopped. 

It took me less than two minutes to provide a helping hand but it was the most important thing I did yesterday. It must have been otherwise I wouldn't have thought of it as soon as I opened my laptop this morning. 

Making it a game

Yesterday I had a really long day of workshop delivery followed by dinner with the client, bookended by a couple of long car journeys, which meant me leaving home at 5.20 a.m. and getting back just after midnight.

In order to fit my morning mile in, this necessitated me stepping outside my door to start my run just before 4.30 a.m. 

Rather than allowing myself to feel that this was a real pain or that it was just too much to ask, I actually enjoyed my super early mile even more than I enjoy my usual 5.30 or 5.45 a.m. runs.

The extra challenge of getting out there earlier felt like an adventure, something a bit special. A bit like that feeling when you're getting up in the middle of the night to go on holiday, only without the holiday.

I've realised, more and more, recently that not only is my daily mile an experiment but it's also a game. The unusual challenges of squeezing my run in actually become more fun, because it's not like I have to run each day, it's just a choice I make on a daily basis.

I wonder how I can recreate that feeling of making it a game full of fun challenges into my business and other key areas of my life?

Increased awareness

A quick update on my barefoot experiment. 

Last weekend I tried out my first mile run in my Vibrams, and yesterday I did a two miler in them.

I'm well aware of all the warnings that have been given about running in them, particularly when moving from traditional running shoes to them, including reading about people who'd had stress fractures from running in them. But I can't resist an experiment.

I'm still running in my normal Brooks Pure Flows most of the time, but I have to say that I do enjoy the increased awareness of my feet striking the ground that the barefoot experience gives me.

Anything that increases my ability to be in the present moment, even though running is pretty good at that anyway, is a good thing.

Connected

One of my personal values is connection.

One of the many things I love about running is that it gives me the opportunity to connect with myself, especially with that part of myself that has huge dreams, and sees and feels limitless possibilities.

Whenever I can I also try to keep away from places where there's traffic. 

This often takes me to green, open or wooded spaces where I also feel a connection with nature.

Is it only me, or does anyone else feel when they're running in and with nature that they are connected to nature and to the immense creative power of nature?

How can you not succeed with such power on your side?

I love running! :-)