The a-MAY-zing run streak is still going, but…
it hasn’t been easy. I’ve been running a few times a week for years now, but this whole running-every-day thing is quite an experience. I’m finding out that this challenge is more mental and less about exercise or burning calories or anything else. Why is it so hard? Well, because there’s only one way to do something every day. And that is to simply do it. To decide, no matter what, to …
There have been a few days were I ran around the neighborhood in the dark. There were days that running one little mile seemed like a marathon. For some reason, every day I complete my goal (to run for at least 10 minutes or 1 mile), I feel a tiny victory. Each little success gets me excited to keep pushing forward.
I absolutely LOVE making lists and checking boxes, y’all. I am BEYOND thrilled to have 16 (at the time of this writing…I know it’s day 17 but I haven’t gone for my run yet today!) little check marks to show for my efforts. I wonder how many more I will rack up as the streak goes on.
This whole experiment has me marinating on what it means to be accountable
and how we define commitment. In so many cases we use these words—accountability and commitment, to illustrate how we interact with and support other people. We want people to be accountable for their actions and honor commitments. Not just talk, follow through. Sincerity and integrity foster trust.
When people do what they say they will do, we can rely on them. When people follow through on a promise, we can have confidence in what they say next time. We feel warm and fuzzy when we can trust people; it is a beautiful thing and helps to deepen our relationships. Conversely, when people are flaky, it makes us feel not so good.
What about our relationship with ourselves?
The way we treat ourselves informs the way we treat other people. We may not like to think of it that way, but it’s a fact. So how do you practice accountability? How do you manage commitments you’ve made to yourself?
Often times we are tempted to blow things off when no one is looking. The more we show up for ourselves, the more confidence we build. By doing what we said we would do, even when no one is watching, we empower ourselves. We learn to trust in our own abilities and our confidence grows.
I couldn’t agree more. First, you have to commit; to decide the thing is worth doing. Second, you must hold yourself accountable. This is where creativity, flexibility, and forgiveness are key because things almost never go as planned. If you can bond these two things; if you can hold yourself accountable to your commitments, results are sure to follow.
When Crystal and I started brainstorming this aMAYzing month we both wanted to try something new and a little out of our comfort zone. I had no idea I would be stepping into such a dramatic transformation. Running every day is teaching me that I am worthy of my OWN investment. It’s helping me to find confidence in myself and my ability to stick to something. The results are over two weeks of checkboxes and for me, that is enough to keep me going. How many will I get? I still don’t know, but I’m going to keep showing up and see what happens.
namaste,
E
The91Rewind 