"Jogging makes me happy"
I was reminded this week of a list I put together during my training for my 40k. The day I made the list, I was jogging. I was having a bit of trouble focusing on positive stuff and was getting tired and sore due to where my thoughts were going, not actual fatigue. I decided to create a top 20 list of why I jog. Funny enough, after that, the jog went by very quickly!
Here are five out of the twenty:
1. I jog for my mental health. Jogging keeps me centered, focused and balanced and I am able to sort through my problems and my emotions. I cry, I laugh and I run really hard when I’m angry or frustrated. Jogging helps me process things in a healthy way so that I am not struggling with depression like I have for so many years.
2. I jog for my childhood. On the most part, I had a crappy childhood and as a young adult I didn’t take care of myself either. I put myself into terrible situations and wasted a lot of time. As an adult in my early 30’s I continued that pattern but disguised it in a different way, or came at it from a different angle. I wasn’t always aware of what I was doing, but jogging has helped me gain clarity. So, I jog for the kid long ago who didn’t understand her value and worth as a person. I jog for the kid that didn’t see she was beautiful, inside and out. I jog for the kid that was so sad, and just wanted to be loved. I jog for her to tell her, she’s being taken care of NOW. It seems silly to some, but to me, I am nurturing her when she’s never been nurtured before.
3. I jog because I am moving forward. It’s a metaphor for life, isn’t it? If I’m jogging I know I’m not looking behind me, I’m not regressing and I’m not stuck. I’m actively MOVING FORWARD, THINKING FORWARD and LIVING my LIFE in a FORWARD motion. I LOVE that.
4. I jog because at 41 years old I’ll be damned if I’m going to live the next half of my life unhappy, unhealthy and surrounded by people who are negative. I jog because it empowers me more than anything in my life ever has. I jog because it gives me STRENGTH to say goodbye to some and hello to others. I jog because it gives me strength to take risks, to dream, to believe and to work hard towards what I want for my life. This is MY LIFE, and it’s time I started to LIVE it. Jogging gives me that focus.
5. I jog because it makes me happy. I am not happy each morning as I’m grumbling, half awake to put on my shoes. I am NOT happy when it is raining or windy and it’s miserable outside. I am not happy when my legs start to ache a little or my back is sore. But I am ALWAYS HAPPY when I finish my workout. If you see number 1, it’s the best thing for my mental and emotional health. So I jog because it is in active pursuit of my happiness.
So those are a couple of my reasons for jogging. I also have an additional list at EzineArticles. It may take a few days to come up but there are a couple other articles there that you might be interested in.
Ultimately you have to find your own reasons for enhancing your life and making changes that will inspire you. Remember, this is YOUR LIFE, and YOU CHOOSE HOW TO LIVE IT.
Choose happiness
Choose love of self.
Choose authenticity.
Choose YOU.
With a smile,
Tina
PS. Check back on Thursday when I’ll post my weekly training journal entries and tell you about my first crosstraining with Jody Kennett from Leapfit
I love this post. Thank you so much for sharing it. I’ve just started teaching myself how to jog with Couch to 5k and some of my reasons are the same as yours. It has been so effective in reducing my stress that I feel like it is the beginning of something I will do regularly from now on. I haven’t had much confidence over the past few years and as I am jogging I am often saying to myself, I can do this, and I hope it will carry over into other areas of my life.